The Shrek 2 star made a Monty Python jab about the event, and organisers of the Big Meeting have hit back.
The comedian reposted footage on X (formerly Twitter) of a pro-Palestine delegation taking part in Saturday’s Gala procession.
Alongside the picture, John wrote: “If this scene had been in Monty Python, nobody would have thought it out of place.”
In a follow-up post he added: “It’s rare to see something that is 100 per cent non-authentic.”
DMA secretary Alan Mardghum called Cleese a ‘washed up old bigot’. (Image: STUART BOLTON)
The comments from Mr Cleese, who has five million followers on the social media site, prompted a backlash from organisers of the Gala, the Durham Miners’ Association (DMA).
Alan Mardghum, secretary of the DMA, labelled him: “A washed-up old bigot.”
“He has a lot of fame and influence over people and comments like that are totally out of order,” Mr Mardghum said.
“The Durham Miners’ Gala has a very long history of international solidarity.
“They need to read their history and talk to people who have been involved for many, many years before they make comments like that.
“Unfortunately in this present climate, more and more people feel emboldened to come out with rubbish like Cleese did.”
If this scene had been in Monty Python, nobody would have thought it out of place https://t.co/gJ2gLRBB8Y
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) July 11, 2026
The DMA says international and political delegations have marched at the Gala since the 19th century, and that this year’s criticism underlines both the event’s continuing political importance and the polarised climate in which it now takes place.
Members of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign at Saturday’s Gala. (Image: STUART BOULTON)
Saturday’s Gala — the 140th since the event began in 1871 — brought tens of thousands of people into Durham for a day of brass bands, banners, and trade union delegations.
Banners from former pit villages were carried through the city to the County Hotel at Old Elvet, where guests and labour movement leaders watched from the balcony as bands played their party pieces, before the procession continued to the old racecourse by the River Wear for speeches and stalls.
The latest row comes a year after organisers were involved in a high-profile dispute over whether Reform UK councillors should be formally invited.
Reform took control of Durham County Council in 2025, but the DMA said its councillors would not be invited onto the official platform because the party “does not share our beliefs in community, in the labour movement, and in social justice.”
Reform figures accused the Gala of “banning” them and claimed miners who had voted for the party were being treated with “contempt,” while organisers insisted Reform councillors were free to attend as individuals but would not be given a formal role in the event.