Police assessing videos of Kneecap and Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performances
Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, 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' outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance.
In a post on social media, Avon and Somerset Police said: 'We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
39 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Irish school celebrating after RTE star & former pupil helps land major European broadcasting award
A DONEGAL school is celebrating after an RTE star and former pupil helped them to win a major European broadcasting award. Scoil Cholmcille in Termon produced a news segment explaining Ireland's PR-STV voting system in an accessible way for young audiences. Advertisement 3 Past pupil Barry Gallagher presented the report on RTÉ's news2day Credit: Stephen Maguire 3 The story featured the 5th and 6th class pupils from Scoil Cholmcille as actors throughout the video Credit: Stephen Maguire The segment was presented by ex-Irish Sun man and former pupil of the Now the segment has just been named Best News Story at the annual The story featured the 5th and 6th class pupils from Scoil Cholmcille as actors throughout the video. Their on-screen performances were a key part of the piece, helping bring humour, clarity and warmth to a topic usually considered complex even for adults. Advertisement Read more in News Produced alongside The report was selected by other public service editorial teams across Europe and has already garnered over one million views on The school shared its excitement in a social media post saying: 'Some of you may remember when our fifth and sixth class students starred in a video explaining Ireland's PR-STV voting system,' they wrote. "Past pupil Barry Gallagher presented the report on RTÉ's news2day. Advertisement Most read in News TV "This week, we received the wonderful news that the report has won a European Award for Best Kids' News Story!' 3 Barry Gallagher at Slane Castle Credit: Lorraine O'Sullivan
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Criminal investigation launched into Kneecap and Bob Vylan's Glastonbury sets
Police have launched a criminal investigation after they reviewed footage of Bob Vylan and Kneecap's sets at Glastonbury. Both bands have faced strong backlash for their comments on stage at the festival, which included chants of "Death to the IDF" from Bob Vylan and "F*** Keir Starmer " from Kneecap. Avon and Somerset Police said in an update: "Video footage and audio from Bob Vylan and Kneecap's performances at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday has been reviewed. "Following the completion of that assessment process we have decided further enquiries are required and a criminal investigation is now being undertaken. A senior detective has been appointed to lead this investigation. "This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our enquiries are at an early stage. The investigation will be evidence-led and will closely consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes." They added: "We have 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. "Neighbourhood policing teams are speaking with people in their local communities and key stakeholders to make sure anyone who needs us knows that we are here for them. "We hope the work we have carried out, and are continuing to carry out, reassures the public how seriously we are treating Saturday's events. We politely ask the public refrain from continuing to report this matter to us because an investigation is already taking place." Over the weekend, police announced they were looking into footage from the West Holts stage following both Kneecap and Bob Vylan's performances. Today, the BBC issued a statement to say they should have cut the livestream to Bob Vylan's set. The set was uploaded to iPlayer and remained on the site for more than five hours before it was removed by the BBC. They chose not to air Kneecap's set live, but was later uploaded. The BBC said in a statement: "Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC's output but one performance within our live streams included comments that were deeply offensive. "The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence. The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. We welcome Glastonbury's condemnation of the performance. The performance was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on BBC iPlayer." They added: "The judgement on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines. In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen. In light of this weekend, we will 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." Last night, singer Bobby Vylan took to Instagram to defiantly say: "I said what I said," alongside a statement where he wrote about the state of school dinners and teaching our children to "speak up for the change they want". Glastonbury boss Emily Eavis said over the weekend: "We are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. 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." Downing Street also issued a statement following the performance as they said it was "right" for the BBC to express regret at airing the set. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. The Prime Minister has been clear that any performers making threats or inciting violence should not be given a platform.'
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Kneecap and Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performances now subject to criminal probe, police say
Avon and Somerset Police said officers had reviewed video footage and audio recordings from the sets at the Somerset festival on Saturday. The force said a criminal investigation is under way with a senior detective appointed to lead the investigation. During Bob Vylan's performance, rapper Bobby Vylan chanted 'death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)', while a member of Belfast rap group Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance. A police spokesman said: 'This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our inquiries are at an early stage. 'The investigation will be evidence-led and will closely consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes. 'We have 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'. It asked members of the public to stop reporting the matter because an investigation is already taking place. 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'. Christopher Landau, the US deputy secretary of state, said the band had been banned from the US ahead of a tour later this year due to their 'hateful tirade at Glastonbury'. Bob Vylan played at Coachella in California earlier this year but will be unable to return to the US. They were set to perform in Chicago, Brooklyn and Philadelphia in the autumn. The duo, formed in Ipswich in 2017, have released four albums addressing issues to do with racism, masculinity and class. Bobby Vylan's real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, 34, according to reports. In a statement posted to Instagram after the Glastonbury set, Vylan said: 'Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place. 'As we grow older and our fire starts to possibly dim under the suffocation of adult life and all its responsibilities, it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.' They are due to perform at Radar Festival in Manchester on Saturday and Boardmasters, a surfing and music festival in Newquay, Cornwall, in August. Kneecap have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In reference to his bandmate's upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, told Glastonbury they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine.'
