UK backs Morocco's Western Sahara autonomy plan in shift likely to anger Algeria
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy has declared the UK's support for Morocco's 2007 autonomy proposal for Western Sahara, marking a significant diplomatic shift likely to deepen tensions with Algeria.
During a visit to Rabat on Sunday, Lammy described the proposal as 'the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis' for resolving the decades-long dispute over the former Spanish colony, which has been at the heart of a protracted standoff between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
'The UK will continue to act bilaterally, including economically, regionally and internationally in line with this position to support the resolution of the conflict,' Lammy said at a press conference alongside Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
This position aligns Britain with France and the United States — the three Western permanent members of the UN Security Council — in backing Morocco's proposal, which offers limited autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty rather than full independence for the region.
Bourita welcomed the UK's endorsement, calling it a 'historic' development and part of a broader diplomatic push to resolve the conflict. He noted that British investment in the disputed territory was under consideration.
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The ministers also signed cooperation agreements covering healthcare, innovation, port infrastructure, water management and procurement. Lammy said the deals would ensure British firms benefit from Morocco's infrastructure drive as the country prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
Contested territory
Western Sahara, a phosphate-rich territory with valuable fishing waters, remains on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Morocco controls about 80 percent of the land, while the rest is held by the Polisario Front, which seeks an independent Sahrawi state.
Western Sahara: France backs Morocco's claim of sovereignty and its autonomy plan Read More »
The conflict began in 1975 after Spain withdrew from the territory. A war between Moroccan forces and the Polisario Front ended in 1991 with a UN-brokered ceasefire that promised a referendum on self-determination — a vote that has never taken place.
Since 2020, fighting has resumed, with artillery and drone strikes reported on both sides of a fortified sand wall — known as the berm — erected by Morocco. Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about Morocco's crackdown on pro-independence Sahrawis in areas it controls.
Algeria, a staunch supporter of Sahrawi independence, cut diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021. It hosts the Polisario leadership and around 176,000 Sahrawi refugees in camps near Tindouf.
Algiers has sharply criticised Western support for Morocco's plan. After France endorsed the autonomy initiative last year, Algerian officials accused Paris of backing 'a colonial fait accompli' and undermining UN efforts to decolonise the region.
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