'Very concerned': Regulator investigates BBC over Glastonbury death chant broadcast
by LBC Staff · LBCBy LBC Staff
The body responsible for overseeing the UK’s media has said it is ‘very concerned’ over the BBC’s coverage of Glastonbury, and why the Corporation continued to broadcast an “incitement to violence” to attack Israel’s military.
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The UK media regulator Ofcom said the BBC has 'questions to answer' over why rapper Bobby Vylan, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, one half of duo Bob Vylan, was allowed to lead a chant of “death to the IDF” without bosses pulling the plug.
An Ofcom spokeswoman said they were asking 'urgent' questions of the BBC over whether the corporation adhered to its own editorial guidelines.
"We are very concerned about the live stream of this performance, and the BBC clearly has questions to answer.
"We have been speaking to the BBC over the weekend and we are obtaining further information as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines."
The BBC cut its stream for Irish band Kneecap.
Ministers and viewers have blasted the BBC for its coverage of Glastonbury performances.
Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Baroness Jacqui Smith branded the chants "completely unacceptable".
"It quite clearly stepped over a mark from what is reasonable protest," the former Home Secretary added.
It comes as punk duo Bob Vylan, whose set was broadcast live, led crowds at the West Holts Stage in a chant of "death, death to the IDF" and “free, free, Palestine” as they performed before Irish rap trio Kneecap.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the BBC's senior executives "should face charges" over the broadcast of hate speech.
Philips said the corporation "appears to have broken the law" in broadcasting the comments, referring to public order laws which govern public gatherings and disruptive behaviour, as top barrister Lord Carlisle said they might have committed a criminal offence.
The group, made up of Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan, also displayed several messages behind them on stage, including condemnations of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.
The message read: “Free Palestine. United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a conflict.”
Read more: Glastonbury 'appalled' by Bob Vylan IDF chants claiming singer 'crossed the line'
The BBC called the comments “deeply offensive,” and said it decided not to make the performance available on demand. It added that a disclaimer was put on the screen about strong and discriminatory language.
But the broadcaster was lambasted by senior politicians for its coverage of the comments, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer demanded answers.
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."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting also criticised the broadcast, saying the chants were “appalling” and the BBC has “questions to answer” for airing the set.
“I think [the BBC] have got some explaining to do,” he told LBC’s Lewis Goodall, adding: “I’d never heard of [Bob Vylan], I’m sure that played a part in why he did it."
Streeting added that "publicity stunts" like the chants at Glastonbury take away from the "horrors" Palestinian people are currently facing in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Those comments do no service to the Palestinian people, who just this week saw their villages in the West Bank attacked and burned by Israeli settler terrorists.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to BBC director general Tim Davie about Bob Vylan's performance, a government spokesperson said.
They added: "We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.
"The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC Director General to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer."
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it would be formally complaining to the BBC over its "outrageous decision" to broadcast Bob Vylan.
A spokesperson said: "Our national broadcaster must apologise for its dissemination of this extremist vitriol, and those responsible must be removed from their positions."
The chants referred to the IDF, or Israel Defence Force, which has faced widespread criticism for decades for its unlawful conduct, and more recently has been accused of committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
But some have claimed the comments were antisemitic, and that they called for the death of Israelis in general, rather than the army.
Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis said the chants "crossed the line,” and reminded “everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence."
Nicole Lampert thought the chants were antisemitic. She told LBC that the BBC should have “stopped” and “censored” the performances of Bob Vylan and Kneecap.
“This was like an afternoon of Jew hate. And at no point was it stopped,” she said, adding: “And that's what should have been and then censored because I'm afraid that that's what we have to do now, because they were aware of this as well.
“That's the problem. The BBC knew that there were problems. He went on the stage with the Palestine flag. So they were aware that it was going to be trouble.”
She said the BBC should have cut their stream, and that “it was only once politicians got involved [that they took the performance down] and it does make you think like who at the BBC thought this was acceptable and thought it was acceptable to go on for hours?”
The BBC has been approached for comment.
But the BBC also faced criticism for cutting their live coverage before Irish rap trio Kneecap took the stage for a high-energy set with several references to Gaza and dozens of Palestinian flags waving in the crowd.
The broadcaster said it decided not to air Kneecap’s set over impartiality concerns, but made the set available on iPlayer - though with some edits.
The Irish group led the crowd in chants of “f*ck Keir Starmer,” after the Prime Minister said the group should not be allowed to perform at the festival, as well as chants of “free, free Palestine.”
The band drew immense crowds, and organisers had to cut off access to the stage 40 minutes before they began their set as it had reached capacity.
This drew comments from those watching the BBC’s coverage of the festival, accusing the broadcaster of censoring the band.
Sharing a picture of the BBC’s listing of acts to play the West Holts Stage, which excluded Kneecap, one viewer said: “BBC can’t even admit that Kneecap are playing Glastonbury. State censorship at its finest.”
Meanwhile, a Welsh woman named Helen Wilson went viral for streaming Kneecap’s entire set live from her TikTok account, holding her phone in the air for an hour.
She received 1.8 million likes, and said she might have burned her finger from holding her phone as it overheated.
Ms Wilson told the Irish News that the BBC’s decision not to broadcast Kneecap’s set live was a “deliberate act of silence”.
“This is about the genocide in Palestine – this is not even about this festival,” she told the newspaper, adding: “This is about this wide issue that everybody needs to sit up and take notice of.
“This festival has always stood for more than just music; I believe that Glastonbury is about freedom and a resistance, and people come to this festival who do believe that another world is possible.
“I don’t agree with artists being silenced – when institutions avoid politically outspoken artists, I think that it’s up to us, the fans, to make sure their voices are still heard.”
Kneecap member Mo Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, has been charged with a terrorism offence after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in November last year.
He denies the charge.