David Miller (Powerbase)

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British sociologist, co-founder of Spinwatch and editor of Powerbase

David Miller

Born 30 May 1964 Paisley, Scotland
Nationality British
Occupation Sociologist, researcher, broadcaster
Known for Research on propaganda, lobbying and Islamophobia; co-founding Spinwatch and Powerbase; Miller v University of Bristol
Education Doctoral research with the Glasgow Media Group
Website dmiller.info

David Miller (born 30 May 1964) is a British sociologist and researcher, and the editor of Powerbase.[1][2] He was a lecturer and then Reader in Film and Media Studies at the University of Stirling, Professor of Sociology at the University of Strathclyde and the University of Bath, and Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Bristol from 2018 until his dismissal in 2021.[2][3] He co-founded the lobbying and public relations research group Spinwatch and the company Public Interest Investigations, under which Spinwatch and Powerbase operate.[4][5]

Miller's research has focused on propaganda, public relations, lobbying, counter-terrorism and Islamophobia.[2] From 2019 he was the subject of complaints and a sustained public campaign over his statements about Zionism and the Israel lobby. The University of Bristol dismissed him on 1 October 2021.[3][6] In February 2024 an Employment Tribunal held that his anti-Zionist beliefs were protected philosophical beliefs under the Equality Act 2010 and that he had been discriminated against and unfairly dismissed;[3] the Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed the university's appeal on liability in August 2026.[7][8]

Since leaving Bristol, Miller has been a non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University, and the producer of the weekly programme Palestine Declassified on Press TV.[4] A detailed chronology is given in the David Miller Timeline.

Academic career

Miller carried out his doctoral research with the Glasgow Media Group. He was then a lecturer (from 1994) and Reader (from 2000) in Film and Media Studies at the University of Stirling,[2] where he was a member of the Stirling Media Research Institute.[1] He was appointed Professor of Sociology at the University of Strathclyde in 2004 and at the University of Bath in 2012, and held a Research Councils UK Global Uncertainties Leadership Fellowship from 2012 to 2016.[2] He joined the University of Bristol as Professor of Political Sociology on 1 September 2018.[3]

Miller has served on the editorial boards of Journalism Studies and Critical Studies on Terrorism, on the editorial board of Sociology from January 2012 to December 2014, and on the editorial committee of the Scottish Left Review.[2]

Research

Miller's early work with the Glasgow Media Group dealt with media coverage of Northern Ireland, AIDS, BSE and public health, and with the role of official sources in news reporting.[2] He later turned to the public relations and lobbying industries. Publications from this period include Market Killing (2001, edited with Greg Philo),[9] Tell Me Lies: Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on Iraq (2004), A Century of Spin (2007) and Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy: Corporate PR and the Assault on Democracy (2007).[2]

Through Spinwatch, Miller co-authored reports on Policy Exchange and the Centre for Social Cohesion (The Cold War on British Muslims, 2011),[10] on the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (2013)[11] and on the Henry Jackson Society (2015).[12] He co-edited What is Islamophobia? Racism, Social Movements and the State (Pluto Press, 2017) with Narzanin Massoumi and Tom Mills.[13]

From 2018 Miller was a member of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media, which published briefing notes questioning the official accounts of alleged chemical attacks in Syria, including the Douma incident of April 2018, and on the business activities of James Le Mesurier, who was involved in setting up the White Helmets.[14][15][2] A full list of his academic work is given in David Miller (Powerbase): academic publications.

Spinwatch, Public Interest Investigations and Powerbase

Miller co-founded Spinwatch in 2004.[16] Public Interest Investigations, of which he is a co-founder and co-director, was incorporated in 2005.[5][4] Spinwatch launched Powerbase, a collaborative wiki for researching networks of power, in 2009.[17] In 2010 Miller wrote in The Guardian about efforts to have the Spinwatch wiki taken offline.[18]

Bristol controversy and dismissal

In March 2019 the Community Security Trust (CST) complained to the university on behalf of two students about a lecture on Islamophobia that Miller had given on 18 February 2019, whose slides were said to identify the CST as Zionist, pro-Israel and part of one "pillar" of Islamophobia. The university replied that it had no formal process for complaints from third parties. On 4 April 2019 the presidents of Bristol's Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students complained to the Vice-Chancellor about the lecture and about other talks Miller had given.[19] Further complaints followed.[3] The university appointed an independent barrister to investigate. The report, delivered on 4 December 2020, concluded that there was no formal case to answer.[3]

On 13 February 2021 Miller spoke at an online meeting, Building the Campaign for Free Speech, where he described Zionism as "the enemy we face here" and referred to the earlier complaint.[20][19] On 18 February he issued a statement saying that Jewish students on British campuses were being "used as political pawns by a violent, racist foreign regime engaged in ethnic cleansing".[21] The remarks led to a petition, letters from the Board of Deputies of British Jews and more than 100 MPs and peers, and a large volume of correspondence to the university, much of it calling for disciplinary action.[22][23][3] The Support David Miller campaign published his explanation of the word "pawns" and defended his academic freedom.[24] The Employment Tribunal later found that Miller had not called for genocide or ethnic cleansing.[19]

The same barrister's second report, of 28 May 2021, found no formal case to answer on whether the February 2021 statements were unlawful speech, but concluded that, although not antisemitic, some would have been offensive to many.[3] The university nonetheless proceeded with a disciplinary hearing and dismissed Miller for gross misconduct on 1 October 2021, stating that he "did not meet the standards of behaviour we expect from our staff".[6][3] His internal appeal was rejected in February 2022.[25]

Employment Tribunal and appeal

Miller brought claims of unfair dismissal and of direct discrimination on grounds of philosophical belief. The hearing took place before an Employment Tribunal in Bristol in late 2023.[19] In its reserved judgment of 5 February 2024, the tribunal found that Miller's anti-Zionist beliefs met the Grainger criteria and were protected under section 10 of the Equality Act 2010, that he had been dismissed because he manifested those beliefs, and that the dismissal was disproportionate. It upheld his claims of direct discrimination, unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal, but reduced his compensation for unfair dismissal by 50% for contributory conduct, and found a 30% chance that he would in any case have been dismissed later because of social media posts he made in August 2023.[3][19] Miller wrote about the case for Press TV.[26]

The university appealed and Miller cross-appealed. The Employment Appeal Tribunal heard the appeals on 12 and 13 November 2025 and gave judgment on 4 August 2026 (University of Bristol v Dr David Miller [2026] EAT 84). It dismissed the university's appeal on liability and upheld the 50% reduction, but set aside the 30% finding and sent that issue back to the same tribunal. All three grounds of Miller's cross-appeal were dismissed.[7][8]

Media work

Miller produces the weekly Palestine Declassified on Press TV.[4] He has also written for outlets including The Guardian, openDemocracy, The Electronic Intifada, MintPress News, UK Column, Al Mayadeen English and Al Jazeera; these are listed in David Miller (Powerbase): articles. His broadcast appearances are listed in David Miller (Powerbase): broadcasts.

Detention and prosecution

On 24 February 2025, returning from Beirut, where he had reported for Press TV on the funeral of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Miller was detained at Heathrow Airport under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He was questioned for about three and a half hours and released without charge.[27][28][29][30]

On 4 June 2025 the Campaign Against Antisemitism announced a private prosecution of Miller on three charges under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, relating to posts on X made on 8 November 2024, 20 March 2025 and 24 March 2025.[31] A fourth charge was added in October 2025.[32] According to Press TV and The Canary, reporting Miller's account, a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court ruled on 17 October 2025 that the CAA had withheld significant information when applying for the summons, and ordered it to disclose internal communications.[33][34]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Miller, David, 1964- Library of Congress Name Authority File, accessed 23 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 David Miller, biography ORCID, accessed 23 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Dr D Miller v University of Bristol: Judgment Summary Employment Tribunal (Bristol), 5 February 2024, accessed 23 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Professor David Miller Press TV, accessed 23 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Public Interest Investigations: filing history Companies House, accessed 23 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Statement on Prof David Miller University of Bristol, 1 October 2021, accessed 23 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 University of Bristol v Dr David Miller [2026 EAT 84] Employment Appeal Tribunal, 4 August 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chloe Harcombe, University loses appeal over academic's anti-Zionist views BBC News, 4 August 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Greg Philo and David Miller, Market Killing (Longman, ISBN 058238236X) Amazon UK, 2001, accessed 23 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Tom Mills, Tom Griffin and David Miller, The Cold War on British Muslims: An examination of Policy Exchange and the Centre for Social Cohesion Spinwatch, 2011, accessed 23 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Tom Mills, David Miller, Tom Griffin and Hilary Aked, The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre: Giving peace a chance? Middle East Monitor, 2013, accessed 23 October 2026.
  12. ↑ Tom Griffin, Hilary Aked, David Miller and Sarah Marusek, The Henry Jackson Society and the degeneration of British neoconservatism: Liberal interventionism, Islamophobia and the 'War on Terror' University of Bath Research Portal, 2015, accessed 23 October 2026.
  13. ↑ Narzanin Massoumi, Tom Mills and David Miller (eds), What is Islamophobia? Racism, Social Movements and the State Pluto Press, 2017, accessed 23 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media syriapropagandamedia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  15. ↑ James Le Mesurier: a reconstruction of his business activities and covert role Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media, 16 December 2019, accessed 23 October 2026.
  16. ↑ Spinwatch: Co-founder documents Academia.edu, accessed 23 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Powerbase: A collaborative resource for monitoring power networks University of Strathclyde, accessed 23 October 2026.
  18. ↑ David Miller, A net loss of freedom The Guardian, 6 July 2010, accessed 23 October 2026.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Dr D Miller v University of Bristol, Case No. 1400780/2022, Reserved Judgment Employment Tribunal (Bristol), 5 February 2024, accessed 23 October 2026.
  20. ↑ Building the Campaign for Free Speech, 13 February 2021 YouTube, 13 February 2021, accessed 23 October 2026.
  21. ↑ Academic calls Bristol JSoc 'Israel's pawn' The Jewish Chronicle, 18 February 2021, accessed 23 October 2026.
  22. ↑ Board of Deputies President warns Bristol University about 'increasingly hysterical attacks' on Jews by Miller Board of Deputies of British Jews, 19 February 2021, accessed 23 October 2026.
  23. ↑ Over 100 MPs and Peers demand action from Bristol Uni over David Miller The Tab Bristol, 4 March 2021, accessed 23 October 2026.
  24. ↑ FAQs Support David Miller, accessed 23 October 2026.
  25. ↑ Ben Bloch, Sacked Bristol lecturer claims 'witch-hunt' after losing appeal Bristol Post, 30 March 2022, accessed 23 October 2026.
  26. ↑ David Miller, How I established anti-Zionist views should be protected under UK law Press TV, 20 February 2024, accessed 23 October 2026.
  27. ↑ British academic David Miller detained under Terrorism Act after reporting from Lebanon Middle East Monitor, 28 February 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
  28. ↑ Adam Pogrund, Sacked anti-Zionist British professor detained after Hezbollah funeral Daily Mail, 27 February 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
  29. ↑ Lee Harpin, Miller detained by counter-terror cops on return from Hezbollah leader's funeral Jewish News, 27 February 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
  30. ↑ David Miller detained at airport under Terrorism Act Press TV, 28 February 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
  31. ↑ CAA commences private prosecution against David Miller Campaign Against Antisemitism, 4 June 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
  32. ↑ New charge added to private prosecution against David Miller Jewish News, 17 October 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
  33. ↑ Press TV producer scores victory in legal battle with Campaign Against Antisemitism Press TV, 17 October 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
  34. ↑ David Miller and the Campaign Against Antisemitism The Canary, 17 October 2025, accessed 23 October 2026.
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