EXCLUSIVE Rookie BBC boss is 'blamed for failing to stop a live stream of the Glastonbury anti-Semitic outburst'
Kate Phillips, the corporation's chief content officer, is facing questions as to her role in broadcasting Bob Vylan's set on iPlayer on Saturday.
The punk duo's singer stirred up the crowd into repeating anti-Israel chants and advocating the killing of Jewish soldiers during an uninterrupted broadcast on the site.
It comes as the UK's Chief Rabbi weighed in on the scandal yesterday, describing the incident as a 'national shame'.
Ms Phillips was only given the role permanently on June 18 after a short period as interim chief. A BBC source suggested to the Mail that Ms Phillips should have halted the live stream when it was clear the outburst had descended into anti-Semitism.
The singer chanted 'Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]' and 'From the river to the sea... Palestine will be free', regarded by many Jews as a call for Israel's elimination.
The BBC source said Ms Phillip's involvement would take the heat off director-general Mr Davie, who was at the festival.
The source added: 'Nobody wants Tim to fall for this, he has a big team to sort these problems out so for Kate it wasn't exactly the ideal start.
'She got the job ten days before Bob Vylan's performance and that is very much the talk of the BBC right now. Surely some of this is on her?'
Meanwhile, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi, wrote on X: 'The airing of vile Jew-hatred at Glastonbury, and the BBC's belated and mishandled response, brings confidence in our national broadcaster's ability to treat anti-Semitism seriously to a new low.
'It should trouble all decent people that now one need only couch their outright incitement to violence and hatred as edgy political commentary for ordinary people to not only fail to see it for what it is, but also to cheer it, chant it and celebrate it. Toxic Jew-hatred is a threat to our entire society.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Aimee Lou Wood puts on a cosy display with boyfriend Adam Long as they party together at Glastonbury after romance was revealed
Their romance was first revealed when they were pictured kissing last month. And Aimee Lou Wood 's new romance with boyfriend Adam Long is going from strength to strength, as they partied together at Glastonbury over the weekend. The White Lotus star, 31, joined the crowds to watch live music at Worthy Farm, opting for a casual olive green cap. Adam, 34 - who is best known for his role as convict Lewis Whippey in Happy Valley - was dressed in a blue gingham shirt. The pair - who are starring together in the upcoming BBC series Film Club - were first spotted sharing a kiss last month. Aimee has liked all of Adam's social media posts since their Film Club casting was announced last November. She was also quick to praise the star after he completed a sponsored run in aid of Movember and men's mental health awareness. On a snap of the actor and his running buddies, Aimee penned: 'YOU DID IT!!!!!!! ✨' It's believed the pair met last year working on their upcoming BBC Three series, written by Aimee, in which they play a couple. The pair play lovers in the series, which follows Evie (Aimee) who sets up a film club with her best friend Noa (Nabhaan Rizwaan). A BBC synopsis reads: 'It's Friday night. 7pm. Film Club Week 198. Evie hasn't left the house in six months after a 'wobble', and tonight, things are different. 'Noa's got big news. A dream job is taking him across the other side of the country, which means that all of this is ending. That reality is hitting. That they're going to be forced to consider for the first time they might be more than just friends. 'Neither of them are the best when it comes to emotions but this time those emotions might be impossible to ignore... 'As if life weren't challenging enough already, Evie is going to be navigating this amongst the eccentricity of her family home - living with her fiercely loving single mum Suz (Suranne Jones), sister Izzie (Liv Hill), and handsome boyfriend/sometime man of the house Josh (Adam). 'Film Club is a witty and emotional show about love and family, about whether we should follow our hearts or heads, and being in love with a friend.' Speaking about the series, Aimee - who created the show with Ralph Davies - said in a statement: 'I'm thrilled that our beloved TV series Film Club, a project that Ralph and I have been writing for the past decade, starts shooting this week. 'We couldn't be more excited, and grateful, to the incredible team we have assembled with the BBC. 'To bring this to life with Nabhaan and Suranne, two exceptional actors I have always admired, is a real honour.' The series was filmed in Manchester last year and is set for release on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three later this year. Adam, who also starred in Day Of The Jackal and Waterloo Road, has not spoken publicly about his love life. Aimee's last known relationship was with her Sex Education co-star Connor Swindells, who she split from in 2020 after two years together. Connor, 28, who stars in SAS Rogue Heroes, is now married to the Peaky Blinders star, Amber Anderson, 32, who he wed last year. Discussing the reason behind their split, Aimee noted that relationships don't have to consist of a 'goodie' and a 'baddie', but sometimes the combination of two personalities in a dynamic can result in 'unhealthy themes'. She said in an interview with Grazia: 'We'd had some time apart and then we realised that maybe the relationship wasn't serving us both,' before stating that she and Connor still love each other and respect each other. According to Aimee the breakup was amicable and wasn't dramatic. She compared the moment she became single to a dam bursting wide open. She added: 'When I'm in a relationship I find it hard to maintain my sense of self. I'm very independent but also quite impressionable.' MailOnline has contacted Amy and Adam's representatives for comment. In recent months, the star has catapulted to global fame, owing to her role in HBO hit, The White Lotus. However, the actress' personal life caused more headlines than the series itself, with Aimee hitting out at Saturday Night Live for their 'mean and unfunny' parody of the show that mocked her teeth; as well as being embroiled in claims of a 'feud' with her on-screen lover. The SNL sketch featured comedian Sarah Sherman, 32, parodying Aimee's character Chelsea while using fake teeth to mock her, which prompted in widespread outrage. The sketch poked fun at her Manchester U.K. accent and her teeth, with Sarah exclaiming: 'Fluoride? What's that?' In response, Aimee took aim at the 'cheap' joke, writing on Instagram: 'Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago. Yes, take the p**s for sure - that's what the show is about- but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?' She also shared messages of support from her followers and sister Emily, admitting she'd received 'thousands' of messages backing her up. Aimee continued: 'Last thing I'll say on the matter. I am not thin skinned. I actually love being taken the p**s out of when it's clever and in good spirits. But the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth not bad teeth. 'I don't mind caricature - I understand that's what SNL is. But the rest of the skit was punching up and I/ Chelsea was the only one punched down On... Okay end of.' To conclude, she shared a comment from a fan that read: 'It was a sharp and funny skit until it suddenly took a screeching turn into 1970's misogyny', she added: 'This sums up my view'. Aimee's rumoured feud with her White Lotus co-star Walton Goggins has also had fans talking in recent months. The rumours hit an all-time high after they unfollowed each other on Instagram. But last week the onscreen lovers put the rumours to bed, tackling the reports head on in a joint interview with Variety. 'There is no feud. I adore, I love this woman madly, and she is so important to me,' Walton insisted. Aimee proceeded to address the outrage over headlines that Goggins unfollowed her on social media, which fans perceived as a sign they did not get along. 'I think it's such a comment on where we're at culturally,' she said over the online fury. 'Why is everyone obsessing over Instagram? That is irrelevant. We don't give a s**t about Instagram.' She explained she wished more people were having 'conversations about the story' of their White Lotus characters, Rick and Chelsea, and simply enjoying the show. As well as her new role in Film Club, Aimee has been kept busy filming series two of her BBC sitcom Daddy Issues. This year will also see her star in crime-thriller film Sweet Dreams, which has been pitched as 'a British Fargo'. Adam's most recent TV role was in the ITV drama Protection, which saw him reunite with Happy Valley co-star Siobhan Finneran. His most famous role to date was in the BAFTA-winning Happy Valley, in which he played a convict who aided James Norton's Tommy Lee Royce in kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy businessman, for ransom.
South Wales Argus
18 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Bob Vylan no longer playing Manchester festival after Glastonbury controversy
The group were due to headline the Saturday slot at Radar festival but no longer appear in the line-up. It comes as police launched an investigation after rapper Bobby Vylan led crowds in chants of 'death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)' during their livestreamed performance at the Somerset music festival last weekend. A statement posted on Radar festival's Instagram account said: 'Bob Vylan will not be appearing at Radar festival this weekend.' It has since updated its website, changing the Saturday slot to 'Headliner TBA' (to be announced). In response, the group shared the festival's statement on their Instagram story, adding the caption: 'Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester we will be back.' The rap group had issued a statement on Tuesday claiming they were being 'targeted for speaking up' after Avon and Somerset police began its investigation. The BBC has also faced criticism for livestreaming the set and has since apologised, describing the chants as 'antisemitic sentiments' that were 'unacceptable'. It later emerged BBC director-general Tim Davie was at Glastonbury while the performance was being livestreamed. Bob Vylan performed on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury (Yui Mok/PA) A BBC spokesperson said: 'The director-general was informed of the incident after the performance and at that point he was clear it should not feature in any other Glastonbury coverage.' The group have since been banned from entering the US, ahead of their tour, with deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau revoking the duo's visas for their 'hateful tirade at Glastonbury'. They have also been pulled from their upcoming performance at a German music venue. Bob Vylan are expected to perform at the Boardmasters surfing and music festival in Newquay, Cornwall, in August. The group was formed in Ipswich in 2017, and are known for addressing political issues in their albums including racism, masculinity and class. Bobby Vylan is the stage name of Pascal Robinson-Foster, 34, according to reports, while his bandmate drummer uses the alias Bobbie Vylan.
The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Full set of Sean Connery Bond movies heads up Edinburgh film festival programme
Andrea Riseborough, Peter Dinklage, Renée Zellweger and – inevitably – the late Sean Connery will be among the big names on show at the Edinburgh international film festival, which announced its programme today. A clutch of world premieres at the festival includes a remake of trash classic The Toxic Avenger, starring Dinklage alongside Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood and Julia Davis, while Riseborough appears opposite Brenda Blethyn in Paul Andrew Williams's Tribeca festival hit Dragonfly. Zellweger appears in a behind-the-scenes role, with the world premiere of her directorial debut, an animated short film called They. And in what appears something of a coup, the festival will screen 4K restorations of Connery's six 'official' James Bond films: Dr No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever. Connery's name is now firmly imprinted on the festival, with its main feature-film prize named after him and screenings of short films developed through the Sean Connery Talent Lab, an offshoot of the actor's foundation and the National Film and Television School Scotland. Festival director and CEO Paul Ridd said: 'The legacy of Scotland's biggest global star is central to what we're trying to do, connecting it with the future generation of film talent and all the philanthropic work the Connery Foundation do across film and various other causes is of vital importance to us. To have access to those six wonderful James Bond films and showing them on the big screen is very special.' The 2025 edition marks the third event since the dramatic collapse of the Centre of the Moving Image, the festival's then parent organisation, in October 2022, which also resulted in the closure of Edinburgh's celebrated Filmhouse cinema and its sister cinema in Aberdeen. Helped by the wider international festival that takes over the city every August, a short-notice scratch event was put together for the summer of 2023, while Ridd was installed as the head of a new organisation for 2024, which returned the festival to something comparable to its former status. And in a piece of good news for both the festival and the city itself, the Filmhouse in Edinburgh reopened in June after a high-profile campaign. Ridd says the festival is looking to consolidate its revival. 'We are thinking about this as year one with last year being year zero. We were really pleased with what we brought together last year, so for 2025 we are looking at what worked previously and not deviating really away from that. What's different, I guess, this year is that we've had a significantly higher volume of submissions sent to us, which is fantastic.' This year the festival's competition (for the 'Sean Connery prize for feature film-making excellence') comprises 10 world premieres, including Campbell X's 'queer road movie' Low Rider, Swedish documentary Once You Shall Be One of Those Who Lived Long Ago about a physically collapsing mining town, and In Transit, a drama about an artist and her model starring Jennifer Ehle. An Out of Competition section includes high-profile films such as the Dardenne brothers' Young Mothers, a study of a centre for pregnant teenagers, Jan-Ole Gerster's Islands, with Sam Riley as a washed-up tennis coach, and The Memory Blocks, a new film from experimental documentary-maker Andrew Kötting. The festival is also leaning into a resurgence of interest in archive and back catalogue films; alongside a retrospective of westerns by famed genre director Budd Boetticher (including 1957 classic The Tall T), Edinburgh is staging a series of screenings of films nominated by their in-person guests, all of whom will introduce their picks as well as taking part in an In Conversation event. The Last King of Scotland director Kevin Macdonald, who will appear alongside his brother, Trainspotting producer Andrew Macdonald, has chosen Soviet war classic The Cranes Are Flying; Candyman's Nia DaCosta will talk about Doug Liman's 90s drug deal comedy thriller Go; and Ben Wheatley, whose new film Bulk is leading the festival's Midnight Madness strand, has gone for Ealing comedy classic The Man in the White Suit. Equally as important as the programme was the decision to move the festival back to its August time slot, having been shifted to June in 2008 as a strategic decision by the UK Film Council, then in charge of industry policy, as a way of giving space between the Edinburgh and London film festivals (with the latter taking place in early October). This has reunited the film festival with the energy of the international and fringe festivals, as well as potentially adding some purchase in the autumn awards season. Ridd says: 'I'm very conscious that August is a strategic position for a lot of film distributors to launch their films going into that awards period. So I think August is a pure positive for us.' He adds: 'This is a beautiful city, and you've got all of this other art going on all around you. It's a unique feeling and I know what a big opportunity that represents to us, to emulate that spirit of discovery.' Sign up to Film Weekly Take a front seat at the cinema with our weekly email filled with all the latest news and all the movie action that matters after newsletter promotion Ridd says he is particularly pleased with the reopening of the Filmhouse, even if the umbilical connection between the festival and venue is no longer there. 'We're a completely new organisation, which has emerged Phoenix-like from a difficult situation. But it's obviously had a significant impact on the city, and I think everyone's very, very excited to see it back.' The Edinburgh international film festival, which previously announced Sundance hit Sorry, Baby and Irvine Welsh documentary Reality Is Not Enough as its opening and closing films, runs from 14-20 August.
