BBC under pressure amid criticism of ‘death to the IDF’ chants at Glastonbury

Sir Keir Starmer has led criticism across the political spectrum of chants at Glastonbury for “death” to the Israeli military as the BBC faced pressure to explain why it kept broadcasting.

Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, on Saturday led crowds on the festival’s West Holts Stage in chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)”.

A member of Belfast rap trio Kneecap suggested fans “start a riot” at his bandmate’s forthcoming court appearance related to a terrorism charge.

Responding to the chants from Bob Vylan, the Prime Minister said: “There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech.

“I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.

“The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.”

Investigation

A member of Kneecap said “f*** Keir Starmer” during their performance after the Prime Minister called for the band not to play at the festival.

Avon and Somerset Police said video evidence from the performances would be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.

Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis said Bob Vylan’s chants “very much crossed a line”.

“We are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” she said in a statement.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Bob Vylan was “inciting violence and hatred” and should be arrested and prosecuted.

“By broadcasting his vile hatred, the BBC appear to have also broken the law,” he said.

“I call on the Police to urgently investigate and prosecute the BBC as well for broadcasting this. Our national broadcaster should not be transmitting hateful material designed to incite violence and conflict,” he posted on X.

‘Stunt’

Health Secretary Wes Streeting called it a “pretty shameless publicity stunt” and said the BBC and Glastonbury have “questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens”, speaking to Sky News.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes “grotesque”.

“Glorifying violence against Jews isn’t edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked,” she wrote on X.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said she was “horrified” and that the BBC should have cut the feed.

“Given the nature of the attacks on Israel, the BBC should not have kept broadcasting that. They should have cut the coverage immediately,” she told Times Radio.

Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesman Max Wilkinson said: “Bob Vylan’s chants at Glastonbury yesterday were appalling. Cultural events are always a place for debate, but hate speech, antisemitism and incitements to violence have no place at Glastonbury or anywhere in our society.”

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel wrote in the Daily Mail that the incident was a “systemic failure”.

“What happened at Glastonbury was dangerous,” she said.

“Chants calling for the death of Israeli soldiers crossed a line no civilised society should ever tolerate, and it was shameful that the BBC continued with its live broadcast of this incitement to violence.

“The fact the BBC – a national institution – broadcast this hate-fuelled content will risk legitimising and normalising those views in society.”

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan’s performance, a Government spokesperson said.

The BBC said it showed a warning during the performance and that viewers would not be able to access it on demand.

A spokesperson for the broadcaster said: “Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive.

“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language.

“We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”

‘Disturbed’

The Israeli embassy said it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival”.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it would be formally complaining to the BBC over its “outrageous decision” to broadcast Bob Vylan.

“Our national broadcaster must apologise for its dissemination of this extremist vitriol, and those responsible must be removed from their positions,” a spokesperson said.

Bob Vylan, who formed in Ipswich in 2017, have released four albums addressing issues to do with racism, masculinity and class.

Bobby Vylan’s real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, 34, according to reports.

He is listed on Companies House as the director of Ghost Theatre Records, which is operated by Bob Vylan.

In a statement posted to Instagram, Vylan said: “Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.

“As we grow older and our fire starts to possibly dim under the suffocation of adult life and all its responsibilities, it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.

“Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change.

“Let them see us marching in the streets, campaigning on ground level, organising online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered.”

Kneecap have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence.

The group performed after Vylan’s set on the West Holts Stage with O hAnnaidh exclaiming “Glastonbury, I’m a free man” as they took to the stage.

In reference to his bandmate’s forthcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine.”

In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Sir Keir said their performance would not be “appropriate”.

During Kneecap’s set, O hAnnaidh said: “The prime minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.”

‘Thank you’

Kneecap also gave a “big thank you to the Eavis family” and said “they stood strong” amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up.

A BBC spokesperson said an on-demand version of Kneecap’s performance was available on iPlayer.

“We have edited it to ensure the content falls within the limits of artistic expression in line with our editorial guidelines and reflects the performance from Glastonbury’s West Holts Stage. As with all content which includes strong language, this is signposted with appropriate warnings.”