Ofcom investigates BBC over Glastonbury hate chant

Telegraph

10 hours ago

Ofcom is investigating the BBC after it broadcast a rap group leading chants of 'death to the IDF' on stage at Glastonbury Festival.
The watchdog said the BBC 'clearly has questions to answer' over how the performance by Bob Vylan, a rap duo, was shown live on Saturday.
Ofcom's statement comes after Avon and Somerset Police launched a review of footage of the set to determine whether any criminal offences were committed.
During their appearance at Glastonbury, Bob Vylan chanted 'Free! Free!' the crowd responded 'Palestine!', before leading the crowd in a separate chant of: 'Death, death to the IDF!'
Pascal Robinson-Foster, the group's frontman who performs as Bobby Vylan, also launched into a rant about a Jewish record company boss for whom he had worked.
An Ofcom spokesman said: 'We are very concerned about the live stream of this performance, and the BBC clearly has questions to answer.
'We have been speaking to the BBC over the weekend and we are obtaining further information as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines.'
'Crossed a line'
Sir Keir Starmer has also condemned the incident as 'appalling hate speech', while the organisers of Glastonbury issued a statement saying that it 'crossed a line'.
In a statement issued over the weekend, a BBC spokesman said some of the comments were 'deeply offensive', adding it had issued a warning on screen about 'very strong and discriminatory language'.
It follows criticism of the BBC's response by Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary. On Saturday night, Ms Nandy spoke to Tim Davie, the director-general of the corporation, to demand an explanation.
The corporation broadcast the performance by Bob Vylan without any edits or bleeps, meaning it did not cover any chants or lyrics that might be deemed offensive.
The BBC cut the live feed of the festival for Kneecap, the pro-Palestinian Northern Irish rappers who have been embroiled in a separate conflict in recent months.
Liam O'Hanna, a member of the group, has been charged with a terror offence after a flag showing support for Hezbollah was displayed at one of the band's gigs in London.
An edited version of Kneecap's performance was subsequently made available by the BBC on its iPlayer platform, although Bob Vylan's set has not been uploaded to iPlayer.
On Monday, it emerged that Bob Vylan could be banned from the US after the group's frontman called for the death of all Israeli soldiers.
A senior official told The Daily Wire that the US state department is 'already looking at revoking' the group's visa ahead of their 20-city tour through the country.