Criminal investigation launched into Bob Vylan and Kneecap's performances at Glastonbury Festival - as US revokes punk group's visa over 'death chants'

Daily Mail​

01-07-2025

Police have announced a criminal investigation into punk duo Bob Vylan's performance at the Glastonbury Festival.
There has been widespread condemnation of the comments made by the group Bob Vylan whose frontman led chants of 'Free Palestine ' and 'Death to the IDF' - while there has also been controversy over Irish rap trio Kneecap's appearance there too.
The BBC has been strongly criticised over its various responses following the performance that was broadcast on Saturday, including suggestions it should face charges - while the band this afternoon had their US visas revoked.
Avon and Somerset Police have now said: '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.
'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.'
The BBC today admitted it should have cut the broadcast of what it called 'utterly unacceptable' and 'antisemitic' sentiments in Bob Vylan's Glastonbury set.
And media watchdog Ofcom told the BBC it was 'very concerned' over Saturday's live broadcast.
The new comments came as the punk duo Bob Vylan's frontman known as Bobby Vylan - real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, 34 - earlier doubled down on his 'death to the IDF' chant at Glastonbury.
The BBC's latest statement this morning said: '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. 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.'
In a House of Commons statement this afternoon, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy repeated the Government's condemnation of 'appalling and unacceptable' scenes at Glastonbury.
She piled pressure on BBC director general Tim Davie to explain why the controversial performance by Bob Vylan was broadcast live, and why the feed had not been immediately cut when chants of 'death to the IDF' began.
'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,' Ms Nandy told MPs.
The Culture Secretary also revealed she had spoken to members of the Jewish community over the weekend, including those who attended Glastonbury.
'They have raised a number of concerns about imagery and slogans that were on display at the festival this weekend,' she added.
'And I am told this led them to establish their own safe space at the festival. As a Government we take this incredibly seriously.
'We are urgently looking into the specifics of these alarming reports and reaching out to the festival organisers.'
Ms Nandy said the Government 'strongly supported' freedom of expression and would defend the right to artistic expression.
But she added: 'We do not accept incitement to violence, hate speech, or anti-Semitism is art.
'There is a clear difference between speaking out for Palestine, which is the right of everybody in this House, and everybody in our country, and anti-Semitism which is not, and will never be.
'When the rights and safety of people and communities are at risk, and when our national broadcaster fails to uphold its own standards, we will intervene.'
Tory MP Stuart Andrew, the shadow culture secretary, said the events of this weekend made it 'incredibly difficult' for him to remain a 'strong advocate for the BBC'.
He urged Ms Nandy to assess whether the BBC's actions could have constituted a breach of public order legislation.
Ms Nandy spoke to the corporation's Director General Tim Davie over the weekend and is understood to feel the corporation was 'right' to have 'now acknowledged the live stream should have been pulled'.
Now Mr Davie is facing calls to quit if no one loses a job at the corporation over the broadcast of the Bob Vylan set.
Israel's deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel today told the Telegraph's Daily T podcast: 'If there's no one that will take responsibility, if no one will be fired over such an outrageous thing, then I think that Tim Davie should take responsibility because there has to be accountability for that.'
Downing Street today said it was 'right' for the BBC to express regret, with a Number 10 spokesman saying: '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.'
He later added: 'The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast. It's right that they have now acknowledged the live stream should have been pulled and that they will look at guidance around live events going forward.'
An Ofcom spokesperson today kept the corporation in the firing line, with the media watchdog said in a statement: '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.'
And now US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said his country had 'revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants'.
He posted on X, formerly Twitter: 'Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.'
Critics including the Conservatives ' Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp have called for action against the BBC.
Comparisons have also been made with the 31-month prison sentence handed to Lucy Connolly for inciting racial hatred when posting about burning down a hotel housing asylum seekers.
The singer from the band, who officially keeps his identity secret, also declared 'from the river to the sea Palestine will be free'.
He has now posted a new statement on Instagram, titled with the defiant phrase: 'I said what I said.'
He also told of being 'inundated with messages of both support and hatred'.
Robinson-Foster wrote: 'As I lay in bed this morning, my phone buzzing non stop, inundated with messages of both support and hatred, I listen to my daughter typing out loud as she fills out a school survey asking for her feedback on the current state of her school dinners.
'She expressed that she would like healthier meals, more options and dishes inspired by other parts of the world.
'Listening to her voice her opinions on a matter that she cares about and affects her daily, reminds me that we may not be doomed after all.
'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 possibly starts to 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.
'Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change.
'Let them see us marching in the streets, campaigning on ground level, organising online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered.
'Today it is a change in school dinners, tomorrow it is a change in foreign policy.'
The group formed in their hometown of Ipswich in 2017 and have since gone on to release five albums including 2020 debut We Live Here.
The singer from the band, who has attempted to keep his identity secret, also declared: 'From the river to the sea Palestine will be free'
The frontman has previously spoken of their struggles to get that first album cleared, describing it as being too 'extreme' for some in the music industry.
He told the website Louder: 'It was hard to get it released the conventional way - but it was in our power to release it.'
Lyrics on their tracks include saying on Britain Makes Me Violent how there is 'nothing great' about Great Britain, while on Reign the frontman declares: 'Got a message for the thieves in the palace, we want the jewels back.'
Touching on the subject of housing in London, their song GYAG states: 'Landlord just raised your rent - mate, get yourself a gun.'
As well as tackling subjects such as racism, homophobia, capitalism and toxic masculinity, the duo have also made a big deal about the importance of fatherhood.
The singer known as Bobby Vylan has said his daughter gave their debut album We Live Here its name and she also featured on the cover of their single Dream Big.
Bob Vylan's entire performance on Saturday afternoon at Glastonbury was live-streamed on the BBC iPlayer but it has since been taken down.
Nevertheless, the corporation was lambasted for failing to cut the broadcast immediately after the 'anti-Israel' chanting.
The live stream continued for another 40 minutes until the end of Bob Vylan's performance.
Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has described Bob Vylan's chants as having 'very much crossed a line'.
She said in a statement: '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.'
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Bob Vylan of 'inciting violence and hatred', saying they should be arrested and prosecuted.
And he said of the frontman: 'By broadcasting his vile hatred, the BBC appear to have also broken the law.'
Mr Philp posted on X, formerly Twitter: 'I call on the police to urgently investigate and prosecute the BBC as well for broadcasting this.
'Our national broadcaster should not be transmitting hateful material designed to incite violence and conflict.'
Toby Young, president of the Free Speech Union, raised the case of childminder Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for tweets she made about deporting asylum seekers and burning down hotels housing them after the Southport killings of three girls at a dance studio. She is currently serving a 31-month sentence.
He has responded to the furore with a new statement posted online on Instagram
He added: 'She caveated what she said by adding "for all I care", whereas he [Vylan] clearly does care and wants every member of the IDF, which includes virtually the entire population of Israel, to be killed, so the case for prosecuting him is stronger. But to be clear, neither should be prosecuted.'
Health Secretary Wes Streeting called the performance a 'pretty shameless publicity stunt', as he suggested the BBC and Glastonbury had 'questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens'.
And 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.'
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said she was 'horrified' and that that the BBC should have cut the feed.
She told Times Radio: 'Given the nature of the attacks on Israel, the BBC should not have kept broadcasting that. They should have cut the coverage immediately.'
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.'
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel wrote in the Daily Mail that the incident was a 'systemic failure', adding: 'What happened at Glastonbury was dangerous.
'Chants calling for the death of Israeli soldiers crossed a line no civilised society should ever tolerate, and it was shameful that the BBC continued with its live broadcast of this incitement to violence.
'The fact the BBC - a national institution - broadcast this hate-fuelled content will risk legitimising and normalising those views in society.'
Bob Vylan played Glastonbury on Saturday afternoon right before Irish-language rap group Kneecap, another band that has drawn controversy over its stance on Middle East politics.
Kneecap led a huge crowd in chants of 'Free Palestine' at the festival as well as aiming an expletive-laden chant at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.