Starmer says ‘death to IDF' chants at Glastonbury were ‘appalling hate speech'
Sir Keir Starmer said chants of 'death' to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) at Glastonbury were 'appalling hate speech' and urged the BBC to explain how the scenes were broadcast.
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', before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' at his bandmate's forthcoming court appearance.
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Responding to the chants from Bob Vylan, the UK prime minister said: 'There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech.
Sir Keir Starmer condemned the chants (Paul Currie/PA)
'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.'
Avon and Somerset Police said video evidence would be assessed by officers 'to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation'.
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A joint Instagram post from Glastonbury and Emily Eavis said Bob Vylan's chants 'very much crossed a line' and added: '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.'
Wes Streeting told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: '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.'
On social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival'.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes 'grotesque', writing on X: 'Glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked.'
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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.'
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.'
A BBC spokesperson said: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive.
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'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.'
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes 'grotesque' (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a UK government spokesperson said.
Bob Vylan, who formed in Ipswich in 2017, have released four albums with their music addressing issues to do with racism, masculinity and class.
Bobby Vylan's real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, 34, according to reports.
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Robinson-Foster is listed on Companies House as being the director of Ghost Theatre Records, which is operated by Bob Vylan.
Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, 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.
Crowds watch Kneecap performing on the West Holts Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset (Ben Birchall/PA)
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 British politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Mr Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'.
During the performance, Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.'
He also said 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: 'We have made an on-demand version of Kneecap's performance available on iPlayer, as part of our online collection of more than 90 other sets.
'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.'
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