UK govt condemns ‘death to the IDF' chants at Glastonbury
GLASTONBURY: The UK government said on Sunday that the BBC had questions to answer over criticism of Israel by musicians at Glastonbury festival that police are probing.
UK officers are studying videos of rapper Bobby Vylan leading crowds in chants of 'Death, death to the IDF', a reference to the acronym for the Israeli army, during his set on Saturday.
They are also examining comments by outspoken Irish rap trio Kneecap, one of whose members wore a T-shirt dedicated to Palestine Action Group, which is about to be banned under UK terror laws.
The IDF chants, condemned by the Israeli embassy in London, were broadcast on the BBC, which airs coverage of Britain's most popular music festival.
'I thought it's appalling, to be honest, and I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens,' UK minister Wes Streeting told Sky News.
The Israel embassy said in a statement late Saturday 'it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival'.
But Streeting, Labour's health secretary, also took aim at the embassy, telling it to 'get your own house in order'.
'I think there's a serious point there by the Israeli embassy. I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously,' he said, citing settler violence in the West Bank.
A spokesperson for the BBC said some of the comments by Vylan, part of British duo Bob Vylan, were 'deeply offensive' and the broadcaster had 'no plans to make the performance available on demand'.
- 'A joke' -
Avon and Somerset police said Saturday that video evidence would be assessed by officers 'to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation'.
Kneecap, who have made headlines in recent months with their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance, led crowds in a chant against UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Starmer had said the band should not perform after its member Liam O'Hanna, known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence.
He appeared in court earlier this month accused of having displayed a Hezbollah flag while saying 'Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah' after a video resurfaced of a London concert last year.
The Iran-backed Lebanese force Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are banned in the UK, and it is an offence to express support for them.
O'Hanna has denied the charge and told the Guardian in an interview published Friday that 'it was a joke -- we're playing characters'.
Kneecap regularly lead crowds in chants of 'Free Palestine' during their concerts. Their fans revere them for their anti-establishment stance and criticism of British imperialism but critics call them extremists.
The group apologised this year after a 2023 video emerged appearing to show one singer calling for the death of British Conservative lawmakers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Israeli court postpones Netanyahu appearance in graft trial
JERUSALEM: An Israeli court on Sunday postponed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony in his corruption trial after he requested a delay with the suppport of US President Donald Trump, in a ruling published by the premier's party. "Following the explanations given... we partially accept the request and cancel at this stage Mr Netanyahu's hearings scheduled" for this week, the Jerusalem district court said in its ruling, published online by the Likud party. Netanyahu's lawyers had asked the court to excuse him from testifying over the next two weeks so he could focus on security issues following a ceasefire with Iran and amid ongoing fighting in Gaza where Israeli hostages are held. They had submitted Netanyahu's schedule to the court to demonstrate "the national need for the prime minister to devote all his time and energy to the political, national and security issues at hand." The court initially rejected the lawyers' request but said in its ruling on Sunday that it had changed its judgement after hearing arguments from the prime minister, the head of military intelligence and the chief of the Mossad spy agency. Trump on Wednesday described the case against Netanyahu as a "witch hunt", saying the trial "should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero." He added in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that the United States was "not going to stand" for the continued prosecution, prompting Netanyahu to thank him in a message on X. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Thursday criticised Trump, saying he "should not interfere in a judicial trial in an independent country." Netanyahu has thanked Trump for his support in Israel's brief war against Iran, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and his supporters have described the long-running trial as politically motivated. In a first case, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than US$260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewellery and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favours. In two other cases, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favourable coverage from two Israeli media outlets. During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu's government has proposed a series of far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts. Netanyahu has requested multiple postponements in the trial since it began in May 2020.--AFP
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Iran voices 'serious doubts' over Israel commitment to ceasefire
People mourn over the flag-draped coffins of Iranian nuclear scientists who were killed in Israeli strikes, during a funeral ceremony in Tehran. Iran, Saturday, June 28, 2025. - AP Photo/Vahid Salemi TREHRAN (AFP): Iran on Sunday said it was not convinced Israel would abide by a ceasefire that ended their 12-day war this week. The most serious escalation to date between the arch-foes erupted on June 13, when Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran that killed top military commanders and scientists linked to its disputed nuclear programme. Israel said its aim was to keep the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear weapon -- an ambition Tehran has consistently denied, insisting it has the right to develop nuclear power for civilian purposes like energy. The fighting derailed nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, a staunch ally of Israel's. "We did not start the war, but we have responded to the aggressor with all our power," Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, was quoted as saying by state television, referring to Israel. "We have serious doubts over the enemy's compliance with its commitments including the ceasefire, we are ready to respond with force" if attacked again, he added, six days into the ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump. - Deadly war - In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres published on Sunday, Iran demanded that the United Nations recognise Israel and the United States as being to blame for this month's war. "We officially request hereby that the Security Council recognise the Israeli regime and the United States as the initiators of the act of aggression and acknowledge their subsequent responsibility, including the payment of compensation and reparations," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in the letter. The United States joined Israel in its campaign during the war, carrying out strikes on three key facilities used for Iran's atomic programme. Trump has threatened further strikes should Iran enrich uranium to levels capable of manufacturing nuclear weapons. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent in 2021, well above the 3.67 percent limit set by a 2015 agreement from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018. To make a weapon, Iran would need to enrich uranium up to 90 percent. Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has estimated it has 90 nuclear warheads. According to Iran's health ministry, at least 627 civilians were killed and 4,900 injured during the 12-day war with Israel. Retaliatory missile attacks by Iran on Israel killed 28 people, according to Israeli authorities. During the war, Iran arrested dozens of people it accused of spying for Israel, also saying it seized equipment including drones and weapons. Iran's parliament on Sunday voted to ban the unauthorised use of communications equipment, including tech billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service, according to the official news agency IRNA. - 'Unacceptable'- An Israeli strike on Tehran's Evin prison during the war killed at least 71 people, Iran's judiciary said Sunday. The strike on Monday destroyed part of the administrative building at Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex in the north of Tehran, which rights groups say holds political prisoners and foreign nationals. According to judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir, the victims at Evin included administrative staff, guards, prisoners and visiting relatives as well as people living nearby. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that detained French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, held at Evin for three years, were not believed to have been harmed by the Israeli strike, which he described as "unacceptable". On Tuesday, a day after the strike, the judiciary said that the Iranian prison authority had transferred inmates out of Evin prison, without specifying their number or identifying them. The inmates at Evin have included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi as well as several French nationals and other foreigners. - AFP
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Singapore increases security posture amid Iran-Israel tensions
People cycle along a track backdropped with the city skyline in Singapore on June 27, 2025. -- Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP SINGAPORE, June 29 (Bernama) -- Singapore has increased its security posture amid the Iran-Israel conflict, said Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam. "There is a ceasefire, but we don't know exactly what will happen after this,' he told the media on the sidelines of a community event on Saturday, The Straits Times (ST) reported. He noted the possibility of attacks on both sides. Shanmugam said that individuals or extremist organisations might want to make a point against Israeli, American or other Western assets. There could also be attacks from the far right on Muslim assets. "So we have increased our security posture, working off different scenarios, but you know, you can never be absolutely sure.' However, when asked whether there had been an uptick in suspicious or extremist activities following the recent US air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, he said authorities had not detected anything here yet. "But they need to succeed only once,' he said. - Bernama
