Did LBC suspend Sangita Myska for questioning Israel?

Speculation is rife that LBC has suspended Sangita Myska. Those speculating believe it has something to do with a hard-hitting interview she conducted with a spokesperson of Israel’s government:

It is beginning to look like Sangita Myska has been forced off LBC due to this interview.pic.twitter.com/j4YyzmPB4i

— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) April 27, 2024

Sangita Myska

Myska is an “Award-winning Podcast, Radio, TV Presenter” who has worked at the BBC. In her Twitter bio, she displays the phrase “No fear, No favour”.

On 24 April, Channel 4‘s international editor Lindsey Hilsum tweeted:

Worried about the unexplained disappeared from @LBC of @SangitaMyska. She’s a brave, principled journalist and an excellent broadcaster. Listeners will be missing her. What’s the explanation?

— Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) April 24, 2024

Others had similar concerns, and Myska responded to one of them:

I miss you all too x

— Sangita Myska (@SangitaMyska) April 24, 2024

This tweet didn’t explain her absence, leaving people to speculate. Metro contacted LBC and Myska for comment, but has not reported a response.

Holding power to account

The interview shared by Lowkey was broadcast on 16 April, and it features Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman. In the clip, Myska notes:

What the Iranians.. have said is that this is a retaliatory strike after Israel struck its consulate in Syria.

Hyman shakes his head through this and says what sounds like ‘no’. At this point it’s unclear if he’s disagreeing with the fact that Iran said this; the fact that Israel struck first, or some third thing, but both of the former points are demonstrably correct.

Myska continues:

Now we all know that the way diplomacy works is consulates and embassies are considered sovereign territory of the government that is concerned. What Israel did by taking that action against Iran was… escalate what was already an incredibly fragile situation.

Hyman once again shakes his head, but you don’t need to be a legal scholar to understand that firing missiles at a country’s consulate might be considered an ‘escalation’. After his shaking finally comes to a stop, Hyman argues:

Sangita that’s an outrageous framing of the reality.

Myska righteously hits back:

It’s not an outrageous framing; I’ve just been speaking to somebody who was a diplomat to Iran from the UK government. That’s not an outrageous framing.

After repeating the point about the consulate being foreign soil, Myska says:

there was undoubtedly going to be blowback, so did Israel game out what was going to happen next?

Hold on to your hats, because it somehow gets more ridiculous from this point onwards. Hyman responds:

Firstly, I’m not going to speak directly to that strike

Myska asks what any normal person would:

Why not?

Ignoring her, Hyman continues:

This is why it’s outrageous. I can say definitively… that that wasn’t an embassy; it wasn’t a consulate; it wasn’t any type of diplomatic mission.

Myska notes it has been widely reported as such, angering Hyman, who snaps:

Because that’s what Iran says!

Laughing at the blustering goon, Myska asks:

Are you suggesting every single news organisation in the world has got that wrong?

Hyman responds by shrugging – his face somehow redder than the Palestinian blood on his hands.

Where’s Sangita Myska?

Many people online are asking what’s happened to the broadcaster:

Sangita Myska put tough questions to an Israeli government spokesperson, and hasn't been on LBC since.

Judging by their silence, an awful lot of other journalists must quite comfortable with the idea that another country's interests should dictate media practices here!

— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) April 27, 2024

So has @SangitaMyska still not been on her @LBC show?
And still no explanation?
Really is starting to get worrying.

I really hope she’s ok. She’s an excellent journalist, a huge asset to LBC.

— Zoe Gardner (@ZoeJardiniere) April 28, 2024

SOLIDARITY @SangitaMyska

Why are none of her fellow presenters @LBC publicly supporting her? Are THEY proper journalists or simply propagandists? https://t.co/tG0N5wMLNk

— Tom London (@TomLondon6) April 28, 2024

Some people are sharing a petition:

Important petition

Reinstate Sangita Myska to her Position at LBC

Sangita’s sudden disappearance from LBC without explanation is incredibly worrying. She’s a superb broadcaster and we want her back. Sign 👇 https://t.co/G0lCtBrBR4

— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) April 28, 2024

Without balanced and truthful reporting we are left with propaganda and fascism.
Reinstate Sangita Myska to her Position at LBC – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/IsR1sd3z29 via @Change

— EuropeanPowell (@EuropeanPowell) April 28, 2024

Sangita Myska serves as a beacon of fair and balanced professional journalism. This decision smacks of censorship. Reinstate Sangita Myska to her Position at LBC – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/5fqCJiVvgq via @UKChange

— John McDonnell (@johnmcdonnellMP) April 27, 2024

The petition reads:

As an avid listener and supporter of LBC, I am deeply saddened by the sudden and unexplained removal of Sangita Myska from the air. Sangita is a professional and thorough journalist whose insightful reporting has been a cornerstone of LBC’s programming. Her absence leaves a void that cannot be easily filled, depriving listeners of her unique perspective on critical issues.

We believe in the importance of diverse voices in media and we value Sangita’s contribution towards this goal. We urge LBC to reconsider their decision and reinstate Sangita Myska immediately. Please sign this petition if you support our cause.

UK journalism

While the phrase ‘UK journalism’ can often seem like an oxymoron, individual journalists can do good work. You can usually tell when it happens, because the journalists in question pay for it.

We don’t know why Myska is off the air, but we do know this; when she was confronted by a mouthpiece from a war-mongering government, Sangita Myska spoke truth to power.

Featured image via LBC