UK police launch criminal investigation after viewing footage of Kneecap and Bob Vylan's Glastonbury sets

LAST UPDATE | 14 hrs ago

POLICE IN THE UK have opened a criminal investigation into the Glastonbury performances of Irish rap group Kneecap and the British punk duo Bob Vylan. 

Both groups expressed pro-Palestine, anti-Israel sentiments on stage over the weekend, while Bob Vylan lead the crowd in a chant calling for “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces). 

Police in Avon and Summerset said the decision to open a criminal probe had been made after reviewing footage from the festival, which took place overt the weekend.

A senior detective has been appointed to lead this investigation, police said. 

In a statement, police said that enquiries are still at an early stage and that the performances are being treated as a public order incident. 

But it also said the investigation “will closely consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes”.

Police said they had 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”.

Earlier today, the US revoked Bob Vylan’s visas ahead of their autumn tour. 

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the visas had been revoked “in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants.”

“Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” he posted on X.

The group were scheduled to tour the US this autumn. 

The BBC has said that it “should have pulled” the live stream of the performance. 

In a statement today, the BBC said that comments made by Bob Vylan “were deeply offensive”.

“The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence,” added the statement.

“The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.”

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The statement further remarked that the Bob Vylan’s set was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on the BBC iPlayer.

The BBC said that its decision on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online “was in line with our editorial guidelines”.

The broadcaster later took the decision to make the performance unavailable on demand.

“The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance,” said the BBC.

“We regret this did not happen.”

The BBC added that it will now “look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air”.

The UK’s media regulator Ofcom has said it is “very concerned” about the live stream of Bob Vylan’s performance and added that the “BBC clearly has questions to answer”.

An Ofcom spokesperson said it has been speaking to the BBC and is “obtaining further information as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines”.

Meanwhile, the BBC also “welcomed Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance”.

Glastonbury Festival had said it was “appalled” by the actions of rap punk duo Bob Vylan on stage.

Emily Eavis, the organiser of Glastonbury, issued a statement which said that the festival “stands against all forms of war and terrorism”.

The statement added: “With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs.

“However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and 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.”

The performance has also been criticised by UK prime minister Keir Starmer who said that the “BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast”.

The BBC had cut its coverage from the West Holts stage before Kneecap was set to perform to “ensure that our programming meets our editorial guidelines”.

An edited version of Kneecap’s performance is now available on the BBC iPlayer.

With reporting from David Mac Redmond

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