BBC ‘regrets' not pulling Glastonbury stream after anti-Israel remarks
'With hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen,' the broadcaster said of Bob Vylan's show, in which the group led the crowds in chants of 'Death to the IDF', the initials of the Israeli military.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after there was 'no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech'.
The BBC said that 'millions of people' watched its coverage of the festival 'but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive'.
'The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence,' it added.
'The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves.'
Media watchdog Ofcom warned Monday that it was 'very concerned' and that the BBC had questions to answer.
'We have been speaking to the BBC over the weekend and we are obtaining further information as a matter of urgency,' it added.
Controversy descended on this year's event before it even began over the inclusion of Irish rap trio Kneecap, one of whose members was recently charged under terror legislation.
During their show on Saturday, one Kneecap member wore a T-shirt dedicated to the Palestine Action Group, which is about to be banned under UK terror laws.
The chants about Israel's military were led by Bob Vylan's frontman Bobby Vylan, and were broadcast live on the BBC.
Glastonbury's organisers said the the comments had 'very much crossed a line'.
'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,' the festival said in a statement.
Avon and Somerset police said Saturday that video evidence would be assessed 'to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation'.
The incident has caused a diplomatic headache for the UK, with the Israel embassy issuing a statement saying 'it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival'.
Kneecap, which has made headlines in recent months with its pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance, also led crowds in chanting abuse against Prime Minister Starmer.
Starmer and other politicians 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 this month accused of having displayed a Hezbollah flag while saying 'Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah' at a London concert last year. A video of the concert resurfaced and caused controversy.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Palestinian militants Hamas are banned in the UK, where it is an offence to express support for them.
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
Road to Middle East peace runs through Teheran and Tel Aviv
IRAN stands at the crossroads of history for resisting Israel and the United States that went all out to destroy the Islamic republic's uranium enrichment facilities. With or without nuclear weapons, Teheran can be a force for equilibrium and stability — not just in the Middle East, but across the Eurasian heartland. In hindsight, everything was going well with Iran's nuclear programme until US President Donald Trump decided to dump the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on May 8, 2018. Technically speaking, the US withdrawal from JPOA removed Iran from its obligations and expedited its "breakout time" — the time it would take for Iran to produce enough weapon-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb. By the morning of June 22, when all hell broke loose over the Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan uranium processing sites, Iran had the capacity to enrich uranium to 60 per cent purity, short of the 90 per cent that Israel feared. Incidentally, Israel has nuclear bombs at Dimona that could blow the entire region into pieces, and yet Tel Aviv is fearful of Teheran that has no nuclear bombs? After the US strikes, Trump triumphantly declared that the facilities "were totally and completely obliterated". His assessment was later downplayed by Central Intelligence Agency director John Ratcliffe. The killing of Iran's top nuclear scientists and generals may set back the process for a few years. However, it is unlikely to undermine its technical capacity to weaponise the knowledge, if it wishes to. The current Iran-Israel conflict is no longer based on ideological schisms or differences. Instead, the once-dominant Arab-Israeli conflict has given way to a more complex, dangerous and region-defining rivalry between Iran and Israel — one that reflects shifting alliances, strategic ambition and a new geopolitical architecture in the Middle East. This new fault line is less about identity or religion, and more about regional hegemony, deterrence, and resistance to unilateralism, territorial domination and land grabbing. Lastly, Israel's genocide policy in Gaza is a stark warning to other countries that they, too, could face the same fate if they dare challenge the nuclear state of Israel openly. Israel is a formidable military power and can respond to Iranian attacks — but without the US, it faces high strategic and operational risk. While US involvement provides the margin between military resilience and regional catastrophe, the response from Iran touched the very heart of Middle Eastern geopolitics in that states, however weak they are perceived to be, will stand up to regional bullies, a lesson that Tel Aviv should heed. The recent "12-day war" shows clearly that the Iran-Israel rivalry cannot be managed through bombs and diplomacy alone. What the Middle East needs to prevent further clashes involving the big powers is a new collective security dialogue and an acknowledgement that Iran, with a population of 90 million and sophisticated homegrown hypersonic missile technology, is a force to reckon with. Besides, it controls the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic choke point, through which some 20 million barrels of oil go through daily. Israel's true survival lies not in bombs, walls or foreign guarantees but in reconciliation, restraint and regional trust. Its security comes not from controlling land or stockpiling weapons — it comes from genuine coexistence with neighbours based on mutual respect, shared dignity and resilience. The road to Middle East peace no longer runs through Cairo, Riyadh or Amman — it now runs through Teheran and Tel Aviv. Thus, the Arab-Israeli conflict is no longer the story. The Iran-Israel confrontation is.
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
UN says Iran aid budget will need to double post-war
GENEVA: The most senior UN official in Iran said Tuesday the organisation's humanitarian and development aid budget to the country would need to be doubled following the war with Israel. Stefan Priesner, the UN resident coordinator in Iran, said he hoped the international community would step up with more funding. 'We are now doing the budgeting' for 2025, he told a press briefing in Geneva. 'It's a significant increase,' he said. 'It's a bit early to say how much we exactly need. But we certainly would expect a doubling of the funding.' He said that last year's UN budget for development and humanitarian affairs in Iran was $75 million -- roughly $50 million for refugees and $25 million for the development programme. Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world -- around 3.5 million -- most of them from Afghanistan. Speaking from Tehran, Priesner said he hoped aid and development would be seen as separate from other issues and the situation would trigger the international community to increase its support. On June 13, Israel launched a major bombing campaign against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists. The Israeli strikes hit military bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across Iran. Iran retaliated with waves of missiles and drone strikes, hitting cities in Israel. A ceasefire took effect on June 24. Priesner said that in 2022, the UN and the Iranian government agreed a five-year programme on public health, socio-economic resilience, environmental protection, disaster reduction and management, and drug control. The UN is now in talks with Tehran on 'how to adapt the programme to meet emerging needs' following the conflict with Israel. Priesner indicated that the UN normally has 50 international staff in Iran and about 500 local staff. Although some employees and their families had to leave their homes when Israel's bombardment began, he said normal operations had resumed on Sunday.
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Mention of MACC's Ilham Tower forfeiture application set for Aug 6
KUALA LUMPUR: The mention of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) forfeiture application for Ilham Tower, owned by the family of the late Tun Daim Zainuddin, has been fixed for Aug 6 at the Kuala Lumpur High Court. In a statement, the MACC said the application was filed on May 25 under Section 56 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act. The statement further noted that the MACC will engage with enforcement authorities in the United States to obtain legal assistance in initiating proceedings against assets linked to Daim, his wife, Toh Puan Nai'mah Abdul Khalid, and their proxies within that jurisdiction. On June 25, MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that the Commission had filed a forfeiture application in respect of the 60-storey building, which forms part of the latest series of assets identified for forfeiture proceedings involving the former finance minister, Nai'mah, and several of their proxies in Malaysia.
