The Charity Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case into the Southbank Centre following controversial comments made by its chair.
Last month, the regulator confirmed that it was “assessing concerns” raised in the media over comments by Southbank Centre’s chair, Misan Harriman, regarding the Golders Green attacks and May’s local council elections.
Now, the commission has intervened further by opening a compliance case “to continue assessing concerns raised in the media” about Harriman’s comments.
A spokesperson for the regulator said it was “engaging with the charity’s trustees to gather more information”.
Harriman, whose allies maintain that he is the victim of a “smear campaign”, has been chair of the arts and culture centre and charity’s board of governors since 2021.
Harriman’s comments reported by the Telegraph
He was accused by the Telegraph on 6 May of sharing a social media post containing an alleged “conspiracy” about the 29 April attacks.
The post questioned the amount of press coverage given to the stabbing of a Muslim man in Southwark by Essa Suleiman, shortly before he travelled to Golders Green and attacked two Jewish men – which critics said risked minimising the antisemitic nature of the attack.
The Telegraph ran a subsequent story on 10 May accusing Harriman of comparing Reform’s success in this month’s local council elections to the Holocaust, after the photographer and activist quoted US writer Susan Sontag in a video giving his thoughts on the outcome.
Harriman said in the video on social media: “[Sontag] said, when thinking about the Holocaust, 10% of people in any population are cruel no matter what, and 10% is merciful no matter what and the other – this is important – the other remaining 80% could be moved in either direction.
“It’s such a profound way to look at us. In the context of yesterday’s election result it is something which I think is really topical.”
Claims Charity Commission guidance breached
On 18 May, the Times published a letter by a group of cultural figures – including Danny Cohen, the former BBC director of television, and David Kershaw, a former Southbank Centre trustee – calling on Harriman to resign in the wake of the comments.
Signatories claimed Harriman was using his public platform to make “daily interventions on social media pushing a divisive political agenda” rather than focusing on championing the Southbank Centre, and alleged he was breaching commission guidance around trustees keeping personal political views separate from the charity they represent.
Meanwhile, Harriman, who has said his remarks were deliberately clipped to misrepresent him, has been defended in an open letter. Signed by almost 250 people including celebrities such as Riz Ahmed, David Oyelowo, Greta Thunberg and Gary Lineker, it criticised a “dishonest smear campaign” against Harriman.
A Southbank Centre spokesperson said at the time that all its board members, including the chair, “have the right to exercise their freedom of expression within the law”.
They said: “The personal views of individual members of our board do not represent the views of the Southbank Centre and in no way affect our programming nor the welcome that we extend to all.”
While the Southbank Centre Ltd is listed as the charity’s sole trustee, Harriman chairs the company.
The Southbank Centre has now been approached for additional comment.
