Counter-terror police looking into complaints about ‘anti-Zionist’ lecturer David Miller’s trip to Hezbollah leader’s funeral

The UK’s counter-terrorism policing unit is looking into complaints about former Bristol University professor David Miller’s trip to attend the funeral of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Miller posted about attending the ceremony for Nasrallah and his deputy Hashem Safieddine, both of whom were killed by an Israeli airstrike last year.

The controversial lecturer, who was sacked from his teaching post over his anti-Israel comments, made reference to the large crowds gathered for the occasion, saying that he “made it into the stadium in the nick of time”.

Miller, who co-presents a show on Iranian propaganda channel Press TV (with former MP Chris Williamson who was suspended from Labour for saying the party had been “too apologetic” over its antisemitism scandal) also criticised the fact that Israeli jets flew over the funeral, which he called “Pathetic and counter-productive”.

He suggested that: “To counter the Zionist aerial supremacy it’s an urgent matter for the resistance to secure better air defence capacity.”

He also described Hezbollah’s “yellow flags fluttering” in the stadium where the ceremony was held, adding sarcastically: “The Axis of Resistance is definitely finished.”

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed paramilitary group in Lebanon, has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the British government in its entirety since 2019. Previously, the government made a distinction between the group’s political and military wings.

Campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS) said that they had reported Miller to the police following his posts about attending the ceremony.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) added: “What do our terror laws mean if someone can attend the funeral of a mass-murdering terrorist and return to the UK as if nothing has happened? If this is not a matter for the police then clearly our laws require urgent review.”

And, in a statement to the JC, Counter-Terrorism Policing confirmed that it was “assessing relevant material” with a view to determining whether “further investigation” is required.

Last year, an employment tribunal found that the former Bristol University professor was unfairly dismissed and said that his “anti-Zionist” views were “worthy of respect in a democratic society”.

But critics have long accused him of straying into antisemitism in his discussion of the Jewish state.

In 2021, Miller defended his comments that students at Bristol’s J-Soc were being used as “political pawns by a violent, racist foreign regime” and told the JC that “The ‘Jewish student groups’ you refer to are political lobby groups overseen by the Union of Jewish Students, which is constitutionally bound to promoting Israel … There is a real question of abuse here — of Jewish students on British campuses being used as political pawns by a violent, racist foreign regime engaged in ethnic cleansing.”

While still employed by the university, Miller claimed that “Even chicken soup is a Zionist plot” and slammed an interfaith event between Jews and Muslims at the East London Mosque.

And October last year, former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg terminated an interview with Miller on GB News over the academic’s alleged antisemitism.

After around seven minutes of discussion, Rees-Mogg said: “I think you have, by your own words, made quite clear what your position is and have linked Zionism to Judaism and that must be fundamentally antisemitic. Your right to free speech must be upheld, but by your own words I think you've made your position very, very clear”.

The former Conservative minister also accused Miller of “going back to the classic antisemitism of saying the Jews are organised globally and they are using this for reasons of power” in relation to his comments about the J-Soc, adding: “So you use Zionism as cover for antisemitism.”

Miller denied this, retorting: “They're not a member of any world Jewish organisation they're a member of a World Zionist Organisation which of course does what it says in the tin, it promotes Zionism.”

Meanwhile, earlier this year, the Board of Deputies called for the dismissal of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, after she publicly voiced her support for Miller.

A spokesperson for Counter-Terrorism Policing said: “Counter Terrorism Policing received a number of reports over the weekend from members of the public relating to concerns about a UK-based individual who allegedly travelled to Lebanon to attend the funeral of the former leader of the proscribed group Hezbollah.

"Officers are currently assessing relevant material relating to this matter to determine whether any further investigation by CTP may be required.

"While we are not able to comment further on this particular matter, we are always grateful to the public when they get in touch to report any concerns. Any reports made to us will get reviewed and assessed and further action will be taken as required and appropriate.”

The JC has contacted Miller for comment.