A former university lecturer was detained by counter-terrorism police at Heathrow Airport after attending the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
David Miller, 60, was held on Monday after returning from Lebanon under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act by SO15 – also known as Counter Terrorism Command.
Miller told Iranian state-owned Press TV he was held for 3.5 hours at the airport.
“They tried to find out if I was a supporter of terrorism, as they would call it, and whether I had intentionally met with members of illegal organisations,” he said.
The former sociology lecturer attended the funeral at Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut on Sunday
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The former sociology lecturer attended the funeral at Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut on Sunday.
Miller also works for Iranian state-owned Press TV, where he shared his account of the detention.
He recounted that he attended the funeral as a journalist, arriving in Lebanon on Friday before the ceremony, which took place on Sunday.
His attendance sparked controversy, driving campaign group Labour Against Antisemitism to report him to counter-terrorism police.
Miller had previously called for Hezbollah – which is deemed a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK – to no longer be recognised as such by the British Government.
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The ex-professor was sacked by the University of Bristol in 2021 after Jewish students complained he made them feel “uncomfortable and intimidated”.
Last year, an employment tribunal ruled he was “unfairly dismissed” following comments he made about Israel.
The tribunal found that expressing anti-Zionist views is a “philosophical belief and a protected characteristic” under the 2010 Equality Act.
Afterwards, the Union of Jewish Students expressed disappointment with the decision, warning it “may set a dangerous precedent” and “make Jewish students less safe”.
Sharing footage of the ceremony on X, Miller posted one video showing him surrounded by thousands of mourners waving Hezbollah and Iran flags.
Miller posted online that he “made it into the stadium in the nick of time” and “the ceremony has begun, in a sunny Beirut”
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He described attendees as “a tide of humanity” and noted “yellow [Hezbollah] flags fluttering in the sun”.
In posts, Miller wrote that he “made it into the stadium in the nick of time” and “the ceremony has begun, in a sunny Beirut.”
Lambasting the professor, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “David Miller isn’t even bothering to hide his antisemitism any more.”
“He’s now openly boasting of his support for a proscribed terrorist group. It’s shocking that for so long he held a senior position at Bristol University.”
In the past, Miller had posted on X: “The British Government should drop its foolish proscription of Hizballah forthwith and start to come to terms with the realities of West Asia.”