
Bob Vylan star dubbed 'shock-jock' as MP says BBC made three obvious errors
Lisa Nandy said chanting at the Glastonbury Festival was 'appalling and unacceptable' and Lib Dem Max Wilkinson branded rapper Bobby Vylan a 'shock-jock attention-seeking musician'
The BBC should have forseen problems ahead of Bob Vylan's Glastonbury set, a furious Cabinet member told MPs.
Lisa Nandy said the corporation must explain why it did not immediately stop broadcasting when a chant of "death to the IDF" started. The Culture Secretary said she had demanded to know what due dilligence was carried out on the artist before it happened.
Ms Nandy told the Commons that Jewish people at the festival had created their own "safe space" after being left fearful by imagery and slogans. She branded the scenes "appalling and unacceptable".
She said she had met BBC director general Tim Davie, adding: "I expect answers to these questions without delay. I have made that view clear to the BBC leadership and I will of course update the House as soon as I can."
The performance and broadcast - which have resulted in a police investigation - were condemned across the Commons. Lib Dem MP Max Wilkinson branded rapper Bobby Vylan - real name Pascal Robinson-Foster - a "shock-jock attention-seeking musician".
He added: "A cursory look through the social media of Bob Vylan raises the question of how this was not forseen."
Ms Nandy said the BBC's supporters were "more angry than anybody" about the weekend's events. She said: "I'm not sure that you need an inquiry to establish that it should have been foreseeable that there would be problems with broadcasts this weekend, that the decision to broadcast live without any delay should have been reviewed, and that a live feed should have been pulled immediately when the chants 'death, death to the IDF' began."
The Labour frontbencher said she had told Mr Davie she is not satisfied with the answers she has been given so far. It comes as Avon and Somerset Police said a criminal investigation is underway following performances by Bob Vylan and Irish rap trio Kneecap.
And the United States Government also announced that Bobby Vylan have been banned from the US. The duo were set to perform shows in Chicago, Brooklyn and Philadelphia in the autumn.
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".
Shadow Culture Secretary Stuart Andrew claimed the BBC "has repeatedly failed to call out antisemitic rhetoric" - and went on to criticise its decision to show a pre-recorded performance by Irish rap group Kneecap.
The Tory MP said: "The BBC's decision to also broadcast material from Kneecap, a group whose members have openly called for members of Parliament to be killed, is as indefensible as it is shocking."
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40 minutes ago
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Glastonbury proves that I was right to try to reform the BBC: NADINE DORRIES
I have long believed that the BBC is one of the main supporting pillars of socialism in Britain today and that many who work for it are rootedly anti-Semitic. After the events of the weekend, when the Corporation live-streamed disgusting chants of 'death, death to the IDF [ Israel Defence Forces]' by punk duo Bob Vylan from Glastonbury, who can doubt it?


Daily Mail
an hour ago
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QUENTIN LETTS: Lisa flew into a prolonged riff tearing into Glastonbury and the BBC... Nandy was jammin'!
Well that should have Glastonbury 's founder Michael Eavis chewing his silly beard. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy came to the Commons to debate the BBC 's hate-rapper incident. Rather than excuse it, the minister flew into what I understand (guitar-speak) is called a prolonged riff. Nandy was jammin'! Both Glastonbury and the BBC were torn off a strip. For years the centre-Left has grovelled to Glastonbury, hailing it as a pinnacle of our culture. Labour MPs have attended its foetid mosh pits and chanted 'oooh Jeremy Corbyn ' alongside spliffy rich kids boogying in the mud and mire. MPs such as Tom Watson (now a Lord) sucked up to these designer-grungies and their ghastly eco-glamping. But all that was forgotten when Ms Nandy stood at the despatch box. She seized on this foul-up and on wider conduct at the festival, where terrorist flags and Nazi symbols were seen. Things were so bad that Jewish festival-goers had felt it necessary to create their own 'safe space'. All this from a venue that claims to be liberal. 'I have levers at my disposal,' Ms Nandy told the Commons, 'and I will not hesitate to use them.' She was 'exasperated' by the BBC and its poohbahs. 'I'm not satisfied with the explanation so far,' she cried. Not since the row over Blairites 'sexing-up' the case for war in Iraq has a Labour politician torn into the corporation in such a way. For Ms Nandy to sound cross is quite something. Normally she is as menacing as Sooty's little friend Soo. For all the harrumphing, do we believe the Starmerites would ever pull the ultimate 'lever' over the BBC and put it out of existence? Invited to do that by Reform's Richard Tice (Boston), she froze. But she certainly did well with this Commons display and even managed not to be booed – a miracle –when she made a reference to Sir Keir Starmer. It may or may not be worth noting that the Culture Secretary has been much tipped for demotion in a coming ministerial shuffle. After this performance she has made it harder for No 10 to sack her. The Conservatives' Stuart Andrew claimed that music festivals 'must appeal to the highest standards of social cohesion'. There speaks a man who plainly packs a chip butty for his picnic at Glyndebourne. No MP asked the obvious question: can the director general, Tim Davie, survive? But Peter Prinsley (Lab, Bury St Edmunds), fanning himself with a scrap of paper, did ask 'who on earth will be held accountable?' and John Glen (Con, Salisbury) said the public would expect 'people to be held individually to account'. Dame Caroline Dinenage (Con, Gosport) noted that the editing failures could hardly be for lack of staff. The Beeb had 400 people at Glastonbury, averred Dame Caroline, who chairs the culture select committee. 'What were they all doing?' They were surely in the beer tent. Or, being the BBC, it may have been the Pimm's tent. Or something more powdery. Sarah Sackman, justice minister, wandered in to listen to the debate. So, upstairs in the peers' gallery, did Luciana Berger, who has rejoined Labour after the anti-Semitism of the Corbyn years. Jim Allister (DUP, North Antrim) spoke of 'an appalling pro-terrorist broadcast on our national broadcaster'. Andrew Murrison (Con, SW Wilts) had written to the super-rich Eavises at Glastonbury – 'no reply, none expected'. The only dissent to the Beeb-knocking came from Ayoub Khan (Ind, Perry Barr), who wondered why the Government did not criticise 'death to all Arabs' chants by Israeli football crowds. Ms Nandy firmly told Mr Khan that was because it had not been broadcast by the BBC. Sammy Wilson (DUP, E Antrim) described Glastonbury-goers as 'young, middle-class, educated morons'. Rap may not be Sammy's thing. He is possibly more of a Dolly Parton fan. I must say, I can seldom understand a word rappers say or sing. No subtitles. Maybe that was why the BBC failed to cut the feed.


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
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BBC boss Tim Davie was 'consulted' during vile 'death to IDF' chant at festival
The BBC Director-General was personally consulted after Bob Vylan's controversial Glastonbury set, which featured a chant of "death, death to the IDF" The Telegraph has reported that the BBC's top boss is now caught up in the row over the anti-Israel rap performance at this weekend's Glastonbury festival. BBC Director-General Tim Davie, who was on-site visiting staff on Saturday, was swiftly informed when Bob Vylan blasted the stage with chants of "death, death to the IDF." Acting quickly, he ruled out the band's set being available on-demand; nevertheless, it lingered on iPlayer's rewind feature for an extra five hours. Despite not ordering the immediate pulling of the live feed, a BBC spokesperson conceded that the broadcaster now laments not doing so. One BBC insider said: "Tim was there for a few hours to see the team. He was made aware during the time he was there of what had been said on stage. He intervened to make sure the performance was not made available on demand and he was very clear about that.", reports the Express. Regarding the live transmission concerns, the source added, "Pulling the livestream brings certain technological challenges. With hindsight, we would have taken it down. He would have asked what the options were, but it isn't as straightforward as hitting a button and taking it down." Following the outcry, the BBC was approached for comment. Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy voiced serious concerns regarding Mr. Davie's stewardship in the light of the controversy. Addressing Commons, she remarked: "When you have one editorial failure, it's something that must be gripped. When you have several, it becomes a problem of leadership." MP Peter Prinsley sharply questioned: "The murder of hundreds of Jews at the Nova music festival in October 2023 sparked this war. The irony of broadcast anti-Semitism at Glastonbury here in the UK is not lost on any of us. "So how are Jews, such as myself, in this country to be reassured about the editorial processes of the BBC? And who on Earth will be held accountable for this error?". Ms Nandy insisted that accountability is "an extremely important point" and acknowledged that she has "something that I've impressed upon the BBC leadership." The gravity of the situation This controversy is the latest in a series of anti-Semitic criticisms levelled at the BBC. Previously, the corporation had to say sorry for producing a Gaza documentary with a concealed bias; the narrator was outed as the son of a Hamas leader, and the channel's coverage on Israel and Gaza has also drawn flak. In the unfolding saga, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel demanded Tim Davie's resignation if no staff are fired over the blunder, as she aired her concerns on The Telegraph's Daily T podcast. She stressed the need for an urgent probe into the BBC's delayed response to the offensive material. At the stormy Glastonbury performance, Bob Vylan stirred the crowd into chanting "Free! Free!" which was then met with shouts of "Palestine!" from the attendees, only for the rapper to further provoke by adding: "death, death to the IDF." Additionally, lead vocalist Pascal Robinson-Foster, widely known as Bobby Vylan, engaged in a heated rant about his dealings with a Jewish music industry executive. After a controversial set during Glastonbury was accessible through BBC iPlayer's live stream hours post-performance, the BBC has issued an apology, branding the remarks "utterly unacceptable" and not fit for their airwaves. "We welcome Glastonbury's condemnation of the performance," stated the broadcaster. Apologising for the incident, the BBC slammed the comments as having "have no place on our airwaves", while expressing support for Glastonbury's denunciation of the act. 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