Gary Lineker backs Misan Harriman in open letter signed by 245
gary lineker was among more than 245 people who signed an open letter backing Misan Harriman after coverage accused the Southbank Centre chair of sharing conspiracy material about the Golders Green attack. The letter called that coverage a dishonest smear campaign and argued that criticism of Israel should not be recast as antisemitism.
Misan Harriman since 2021
Harriman has chaired the Southbank Centre’s board of governors since 2021, which put the row inside a publicly funded arts institution rather than a private dispute. The open letter said the purpose of the smear campaign was “entirely without foundation in fact” and warned that it was meant to intimidate other people who speak out.
Riz Ahmed and Jewish signatories
Riz Ahmed and David Oyelowo were among the signatories, alongside several Jewish cultural figures including Benjamin Moser, Morgan Spector and Jillian Edelstein. That mix gave the letter a wider reach than a standard celebrity petition, because it bundled high-profile backing with Jewish names while the dispute itself centered on antisemitism, Israel criticism and the boundaries of public criticism.
The coverage that prompted the letter focused on a post that questioned the amount of attention given to the Muslim victim, Ishmail Hussein, and on a separate Telegraph headline that said Southbank Centre chief “compares Reform victory to Holocaust.” Harriman had quoted Susan Sontag in a video discussing Reform’s historic local election results and said that 10% of people in any population are cruel no matter what, 10% are merciful no matter what and 80% could be moved in either direction.
Karen Pollock and Robert Jenrick
Karen Pollock asked, “How on earth could yesterday’s election results ever be comparable to the Holocaust?” Robert Jenrick went further, calling the post disgusting and saying Harriman should be removed from his position at the Southbank Centre, while David Taylor said, “These posts are not only incredibly inappropriate for the chair of a charity board, but for anyone in the public eye.”
A separate campaign to lobby the press regulator Ipso about the coverage drew backing from 53,000 people, showing that the dispute has moved well beyond one letter and into a broader fight over how the press covers Israel-related criticism and public figures who lead cultural institutions. For Harriman, that leaves the practical pressure on the Southbank Centre itself: the board chair now sits at the center of a fight that is being measured in signatories, not just headlines.
