Criminal investigation into Kneecap and Bob Vylan performances at Glastonbury
A criminal investigation is under way after the performances of Bob Vylan and Kneecap at Glastonbury Festival, police have confirmed.
Avon and Somerset Police said officers had reviewed video footage and audio recordings from the sets at the Somerset festival on Saturday.
The force said a criminal investigation is under way with a senior detective appointed to lead the investigation.
During Bob Vylan’s performance, rapper Bobby Vylan chanted “death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)”, while a member of Belfast rap group Kneecap suggested fans “start a riot” outside his bandmate’s upcoming court appearance.
Inquiries
A police spokesman said: “This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our inquiries are at an early stage.
“The investigation will be evidence-led and will closely consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes.
“We have received a large amount of contact in relation to these events from people across the world and recognise the strength of public feeling.
“There is absolutely no place in society for hate.”
The force said neighbourhood policing teams were speaking with people in their local communities and key stakeholders, which it hoped would reassure the public “how seriously we are treating Saturday’s events”.
It asked members of the public to stop reporting the matter because an investigation is already taking place.
The BBC has expressed its regret at not pulling the live stream of Bob Vylan’s performance, saying the “antisemitic sentiments” expressed were “utterly unacceptable”.
Christopher Landau, the US deputy secretary of state, said the band had been banned from the US ahead of a tour later this year due to their “hateful tirade at Glastonbury”.
Issues
Bob Vylan played at Coachella in California earlier this year but will be unable to return to the US. They were set to perform in Chicago, Brooklyn and Philadelphia in the autumn.
The duo, 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.
In a statement posted to Instagram after the Glastonbury set, 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.”
They are due to perform at Radar Festival in Manchester on Saturday and Boardmasters, a surfing and music festival in Newquay, Cornwall, in August.
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.
In reference to his bandmate’s upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, told Glastonbury they would “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Meanwhile
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62884y1pl5o
We had PM Keir Starmer immediately call the “Death, Death to the IDF” (Israeli Defense Force) comments made by Glastonbury singer Bob Vylan’s as “appalling”, but today 20 Palestinians, including many children, were slaughtered when the IDF deliberately targeted civilians sitting in cafe and he, Starmer, said nothing? Speaks volumes when hyperbole attracts a greater reaction than cold blooded murder.
What sort of a society have we become when it’s ok for our Prime Minister to invite President Trump over to meet the King when he has been acting like a playground bully and appears to have little or no respect for the rule of Law in his own Country. We (as a country) provide support to a nation (Israel) that appears to act in a way that is contrary to our supposed values of Mutual Respect and Tolerance: (The UK promotes a society where people from different backgrounds and with diverse beliefs can coexist peacefully and respectfully. ) Yet… Read more »
Just keeping things in proportion, they are not advocating the killing of Iittle kids. These forces are pretty much armed to the teeth, usually are supported by armoured vehicles and have been known to raze Palestinians homes down to smithereens with armoured bulldozers. These forces though have been proven to kill little children. Still, just because they slaughter little children and defenceless civilians, it is wrong for a singer to call for violence towards them.
2 wrongs do not make a right. Even though one wrong leads to actual death versus a hypothetical and unlikely one to ever occur.
A perfectly painted picture. I have been aware of what the Palestinian people have been suffering since my teenage years and more than 30 years ago, I saw an image which will never leave me despite the countless images seen since. It was the leg of a dead young girl, 3 to 4 years of age at a guess, sticking out of the rubble of her demolished home. The white sock and black shoe on the foot hammered home the shocking realisation that this girl was awake and aware of the bulldozer arm crashing down through her house. Her last… Read more »
Why?
Just a waste of our money.
Sticks and stones, tank shells and sniper fire may break ones bones but there was a time when words could never hurt one…absolute rubbish but you may get my point
Vylan and kneecap are heroes, all they’ve done is upset people who don’t like the truth, and long may it continue.
This is rather typical of the British victim mindset that appears to be a pandemic at the moment. Throwing a hissy fit like a child because someone said some hurtful words on stage while children are being slaughtered is just pathetic. Wales needs to distance itself from this, and quickly.