Four Newspapers May Have Breached Regulator’s Code Over Media Hit Job on Southbank Chair

Four major UK newspapers may be in breach of the press regulator’s code of practice over a barrage of negative coverage of Southbank Centre chair, photographer and Oscar-nominated director Misan Harriman.

Harriman has been the subject of critical articles in the Times, Telegraph, Express and Daily Mail, with the Telegraph and Times running 14 articles about him collectively in the past three weeks. They have accused Harriman of downplaying antisemitism and comparing Reform voters to Nazis. Columns in the Times and Telegraph have called for him to be sacked from the Southbank Centre.

Harriman, who has led the Centre’s board of governors since 2021 and whose photography documents pro-Palestine and global activism, submitted complaints of inaccuracy, harassment and discrimination earlier this month regarding articles run by the four rightwing legacy newspapers to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), their regulator. 

Ipso has now found that Harriman’s complaints fall within its remit and “may raise a breach of the Editors’ Code of Practice”. No decision has been made by the regulator as to whether the Code has been breached, and the newspapers in question have 28 days to resolve the matter with Harriman before it is escalated to an Ipso complaints officer. 

Ipso confirmed to Novara Media that it has received 22,390 complaints in May about reporting on Harriman by the four titles – down from the 26,500 previously reported due to duplicate complaints being weeded out. This is more than three times the total number of complaints received by Ipso for the whole of 2025. 

The Telegraph reported on 6 May that Harriman shared a “conspiracy theory” about the antisemitic Golders Green stabbing by questioning why there had been limited coverage of a third victim, Ishmail Hussein. Hussein, who is Muslim, was attacked at his flat in Southwark hours before two Jewish people were stabbed in Golders Green last month. 

The Telegraph reported four days later that Harriman was “accused of comparing Reform’s election success to the Holocaust” after he quoted US writer Susan Sontag in a video following Reform’s local and devolved election success earlier this month. In the clip, Harriman quoted Sontag’s observation that “10% of any population is cruel… 10% is merciful… and the remaining 80% can be moved in either direction”, describing the sentiment as “important” in light of Reform’s performance at the polls.

Harriman has called the coverage “harmful” and highlighted that his comments were decontextualised, as in his full video he said Reform voters “are not the devil” and “have many valid concerns”. 

The Times followed up with six critical articles about Harriman, and the Express and Mail with at least one each. The Charity Commission is reportedly “assessing concerns” about Harriman’s comments and a group of MPs and peers have written to culture secretary Lisa Nandy demanding Harriman be investigated.

Harriman told Novara Media: “We have reached the point where truth itself is being crushed by the very institutions that are supposed to uphold it. I stand with truth, I stand by my right to use my voice to help others.” 

The majority of UK newspapers are regulated by Ipso, and must therefore follow its Editors’ Code of Practice. In their recent coverage of Harriman, rightwing outlets may be in breach of clause one, which covers accuracy and “misleading or distorted information”, clause three, which covers harassment and “persistent pursuit”, and clause 12, which covers discrimination. 

If a complaint to Ipso is upheld, the regulator can issue a “critical adjudication” against the publication, which acts as a ‘name and shame’ sanction, which the publication then has to publish in full on its own pages with due prominence. 

The Telegraph requires readers to be paid subscribers to post comments. Under two articles about Harriman, Novara Media found several potentially defamatory reader comments regarding the Southbank chair. The Telegraph has been approached by Novara about these specific reader comments. 

Online publishers have a responsibility under the Defamation Act 1996 to take “reasonable care” over reader comments, which means swiftly removing potentially defamatory reader comments ‘below the line’ once they are aware that such comments have been posted. This defence does not apply to pre-moderated comments. 

Other comments under the Telegraph’s articles about Harriman read “we desperately need a Reform government if only to deport these vile hateful vermin” and “foul nut job. Deport”. Another invites Harriman to “fugg off back to Nigeria”. 

The Telegraph’s comment section “kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful”.

The Telegraph breached the Ipso Editors’ Code more than any other news outlet in 2025, according to the regulator’s annual report. 

Earlier this month, major cultural and political figures including Greta Thunberg, Gary Lineker, Riz Ahmed and Tracey Emin signed an an open letter in support of Harriman, in the wake of what they called a “dishonest smear campaign”. The letter read: “Trying to silence responsible critics of Israel by smearing them as antisemitic does not protect Britain’s Jewish community.” 

Investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr called the rightwing press attacks on Harriman “derangement”, posting on X yesterday: “The Times & the Telegraph now in full grip of Misan derangement syndrome. Send help. It’s almost as if a black man with outspoken views on Gaza is some sort of target?” 

Non-profit the Good Law Project is running a campaign urging readers to stand in solidarity with Harriman. 

The Times, Telegraph, Express and Daily Mail have been approached for comment. 

28/05/2-26 15:45 – An additional sentence was included to reflect that the number of complaints received by Ipso over coverage of Misan Harriman in one month is three times higher than the total number of complaints received by the regulator in the whole of 2025.