Police examining Glastonbury performances labelled ‘hateful' and ‘grotesque'
Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, on Saturday 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.
'Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.'
Reacting on social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival'.
A statement on X said: 'Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy. But when speech crosses into incitement, hatred, and advocacy of ethnic cleansing, it must be called out—especially when amplified by public figures on prominent platforms.
'Chants such as 'Death to the IDF,' and 'From the river to the sea' are slogans that advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel and implicitly call for the elimination of Jewish self-determination. When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence.
'We call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred.'
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.
'The cultural establishment needs to wake up to the fact this isn't protest, it's incitement.
'Less than 2 years ago, hundreds were raped and murdered at a music festival. It's not just the act but the gormless people clapping along and cheering. People with no idea what real terror is.
'They don't understand the evil ideology they're amplifying – and they don't care.'
BBC spokesperson said: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.'
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a Government spokesperson said.
They added: 'We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.
'The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC director general to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer.'
Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, 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, said they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.'
In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'.
During the performance, Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.'
He also said a 'big thank you to the Eavis family' and said 'they stood strong' amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up.
O hAnnaidh, 27, wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: 'We are all Palestine Action', in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group.
News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio played from the sound system before they walked onto the stage were booed by the Glastonbury Festival audience.
The trio opened with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art and also performed tracks including Get Your Brits Out and Hood.
Access to the area around the West Holts Stage was closed around 45 minutes before their performance after groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags.
Earlier on Saturday, the BBC confirmed they would not be live-streaming the set but said the performance is likely to be made available on-demand later.
O hAnnaidh was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year.
On June 18, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts.
He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20.
Saturday night's Pyramid Stage headliner, Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts, opened with the song Sugar Mountain, with Young saying 'thank you folks' to the crowd as the song ended.
The set list, drawing heavily from live album Live Rust, included songs Be The Rain, When You Dance I Can Really Love, Cinnamon Girl and Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black), with lyrics that reference Johnny Rotten, the stage name of Sex Pistols's John Lydon.
Charli XCX's performance on the Other Stage saw US singer Gracie Abrams perform the viral Apple dance.
As the song began, the British pop star said: 'Who the f*** is gonna be Apple girl, Glastonbury?' while holding what appeared to be a glass of wine.
The 32-year-old played her Partygirl set at Glastonbury Festival last year, but this time the singer performed on a much bigger stage amid a year that has seen her pick up a slew of awards.
Elsewhere at the festival, Haim performed as the surprise act on the Park Stage at 7.30pm, while on the Pyramid Stage, Pulp were revealed to be Patchwork with the Sheffield-formed Britpop band paying homage to their breakthrough 1995 stand-in headline set during the performance.
Performing in the coveted Sunday legends slot this year is Sir Rod Stewart, who previously said he will be joined by his former Faces band member Ronnie Wood, as well as other guests.
Sir Rod's performance will come after he postponed a string of concerts in the US, due to take place this month, while he recovered from flu.
US singer Olivia Rodrigo takes the final Sunday slot after opening the British Summer Time Hyde Park concert series on Friday.
The BBC is providing livestreams of the five main stages: Pyramid, Other, West Holts, Woodsies and The Park.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
22 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Starmer's benefits Bill turns to farce
Sir Keir Starmer has rendered his flagship welfare cuts legislation 'pointless' in a farcical climbdown to win the support of Labour rebels. A planned crackdown on the personal independence payment (Pip), which helps disabled people with extra costs, was dropped just 90 minutes before the crunch vote. The late concession came when it appeared dozens of rebels were still willing to vote down the package, even though it had already been gutted last week to appease critics. Even with the change, 49 Labour MPs voted against the Bill – the biggest rebellion of the Starmer premiership, which marks its one-year anniversary this week. Government ministers faced ridicule from Labour critics, who dubbed the handling of the changes 'shambolic', 'unedifying' and a 'total clusterf--- of Godzilla proportions'. The U-turn means that almost all of the £4.6 billion of annual savings the Bill was meant to deliver have been lost, increasing the chance of new tax rises this autumn. Labour Left-wingers are expected to seize on Sir Keir's weakness and push for further policy changes, such as a new raid on wealth or relaxed rules on immigration. The mishandling of the welfare package, despite a working majority in the House of Commons of 165, is also likely to fuel Labour calls for an overhaul in Number 10. The Prime Minister threw his support behind Morgan McSweeney, his chief of staff blamed by some welfare rebels, in Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: 'This is an utter capitulation. Labour's welfare Bill is now a total waste of time. It effectively saves £0, helps no one into work, and does not control spending. 'It's pointless. They should bin it, do their homework, and come back with something serious. Starmer cannot govern.' Mel Stride, the Tory shadow chancellor, said 'This farcical climbdown is the most humiliating moment of Labour's first year in office.' He added: 'This isn't serious government, it's chaos. Labour has bottled welfare reform, left a multi-billion-pound hole in the nation's finances, and set the country on course for higher taxes or a debt spiral. It doesn't have to be this way.' The total disability and incapacity benefits bill is set to continue rising, from £76 billion last year to £98 billion by the end of the decade, piling pressure on the public finances. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, faces a black hole that some estimates suggest could run to tens of billions of pounds, meaning she risks being forced into a new tax raid in her autumn Budget. Helen Miller, the deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the changes would not save any money by 2029-30. She said: 'This is a Government with a majority of 165 that is seemingly unable to reform either pensioner winter fuel payments or working-age disability benefits. That doesn't bode well for those hoping this Government will grasp the nettle and address the deeper, structural challenges facing the UK public finances.' Labour rebels, some of whom are emboldened by forcing billion-pound changes on the Starmer administration, told The Telegraph they will push for new wealth taxes this autumn. One Labour rebel told The Telegraph: 'I'd say the new review will last longer than the PM. His sell-by date just got a lot closer after this week.' Andy McDonald, a Labour MP who voted against the welfare plan, said of wealth taxes: 'It is the broadest shoulders argument. 'Distributed to each according to his need.' That's not Marx, it's the Bible.' A second Labour rebel told The Telegraph: 'I think it is inevitable. I don't think the Chancellor has got any options left.' Sir Keir had been facing a huge rebellion last week when 127 Labour MPs – around one in four – signed an amendment to effectively block the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. In an attempt to quash the revolt last week, Mr McSweeney, Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Sir Alan Campbell, the Chief Whip, personally negotiated a compromise that meant all current recipients of disability benefits would not be affected by the changes. Instead, the new system would kick in from November 2026. A review of the most contentious part – toughening the eligibility for Pip – would also return that autumn. But on Tuesday afternoon, ministers were forced to make yet another alteration, removing the entire section of the Bill referring to changes to Pip. The sudden extra concession, which removed the most important part of the legislation just before the key vote, suggested government whips were not confident the legislation would pass. It eventually did by 335 votes in favour and 260 votes against - a much tighter result than expected given how drastically it had been watered down. As well as the 49 Labour MPs who voted against the Bill, 19 abstained. The concession was announced by Sir Stephen Timms, the minister for social security and disability, during the Commons debate just 90 minutes before votes were due to be called. It came just hours after Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, had insisted there would be no further changes. Ms Kendall, who told broadcasters there were 'lessons to learn' after the result, was the driving force behind the Bill and is likely to face questions over her position. Labour rebels were left infuriated that the Government was continuing to force through a Bill which had lost the vast majority of its major elements, rather than pulling the legislation entirely. Paula Barker, the Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree: 'Whilst grateful for the concessions, this has further laid bare the incoherent and shambolic nature of this process. It is the most unedifying spectacle that I have ever seen.' Ian Lavery, the Labour MP for Blyth and Ashington, urged the Government to withdraw the 'hodgepodge of a Bill which means nothing to nobody'. Ms Lavery said: 'This is crazy, man. This is outrageous, man. This Bill isn't fit for purpose.' 'I went out for a banana – and the whole thing changed' Mary Kelly Foy, the Labour MP for the City of Durham, expressed shock at what had happened after she returned to the Commons after leaving for a snack. Ms Foy said: 'I popped out for a banana earlier on and, when I came back in, things had changed again. So I'm even more unclear on what I'm voting on.' The Tories were also critical of how the legislation had been handled. Simon Hoare, the Conservative MP for North Dorset: 'I have never seen a Bill butchered and filleted by their own sponsoring ministers in such a cack-handed way. 'Nobody can understand the purpose of this Bill now. In the interest of fairness, simplicity and natural justice, is it not best to withdraw it, redraft it and start again?' Around 800,000 claimants of Pip had been expected to lose money under the original cuts package, including 370,000 current recipients. The changes have now been shelved. It means the Government is still expected to spend £28.5 billion on Pip by the end of the decade. Already 3.8 million people get the payments, according to official figures. Sir Stephen will continue with his review, announced last week as part of the initial concessions deal, into Pip eligibility and report back in Autumn 2026. But government sources were unable to say if any of the original changes would be kept. That includes the most contentious element, which was to increase the number of points someone must get in an assessment for the payments. The legislation still contains the halving of the health top-up in Universal Credit for new claimants and the scrapping of the work capability assessment, as well as an increase in the amount of standard Universal Credit.
The Sun
22 minutes ago
- The Sun
Scrapping the Rwanda migrant deterrent scheme has been Labour's biggest act of self-harm
French farce NEXT week Britain will roll out the red carpet for the State visit of French President Emmanuel Macron. Someone should give him a tour of our asylum hotels instead. 1 After all, Macron's done precious little for the £480million we handed him to stop the boats. A record 20,000 have now crossed the Channel illegally in 2025 and been taken straight to free accommodation. Clearly, it's not just the migrants taking British taxpayers for a ride. Yesterday, French cops gave a demonstration of their expensive drones, cars and a beach buggy — all of which we helped pay for. Presumably their most-used bit of kit is new binoculars used by the gendarmes to make sure migrants are firmly on their way to Dover. Scrapping the Rwanda scheme has been Labour's biggest act of self-harm. Ministers are left making lame claims about smashing the people-smuggling gangs, while handing migrants millions more in legal aid to fight removal. Desperate Britain is now considering a 'one-in-one-out' returns agreement. In theory, the French set up asylum processing hubs and for every migrant with a genuine claim that they forward to Britain, we send an illegal back. But given their uselessness, how many will the French actually process? How car washes are being fined £3m a year for hiring illegal migrants to work - is your local firm among them? Migrants will keep chancing their luck until they know for a fact they will definitely be deported. Lost control WHAT total chaos. Normally, a Government with a huge majority would mark its first year in office by trumpeting a raft of great achievements. Sir Keir Starmer's Number Ten has chosen to blast itself in both feet. Last week's U-turn to try to salvage his flagship benefits bill was bad enough. Last night's second capitulation to Labour rebels renders it almost meaningless. No savings worthy of the name. No reform. No clue. We can now look forward to a second year in which Labour jacks up our taxes to fill the financial black hole. Still, at least the Prime Minister's Left-wing MPs will be happy. They look like the ones in control now. Cost of Red Ed In fact bills will go UP by a cumulative £104 by 2031 thanks to a massive upgrade of the network and green taxes. His uselessness would almost be considered funny. If it wasn't costing hard-up families yet another fortune.
Sky News
26 minutes ago
- Sky News
UK content creators demand formal recognition from the government
The UK's YouTubers, TikTok creators and Instagram influencers have been surveyed on mass for the first time ever, and are demanding formal recognition from the government. The creator economy in the UK is thought to employ around 45,000 people and contribute over £2bn to the country in one year alone, according to the new research by YouTube and Public First. But, despite all that value, its workers say they feel underappreciated by the authorities. "If you look at the viewership, our channel is not too different from a big media company," said Max Klymenko, a content creator with more than 10 million subscribers and half a billion monthly views on average. "If you look at the relevancy, especially among young audiences, I will say that we are more relevant. That said, we don't really get the same treatment," he told Sky News. Fifty-six per cent of the more than 10,000 creators surveyed said they do not think UK creators have a "voice in shaping government policies" that affect them. Only 7% think they get enough support to access finance, while just 17% think there is enough training and skills development here in the UK. Nearly half think their value is not recognised by the broader creative industry. The creative industries minister, Sir Chris Bryant, said the government "firmly recognises the integral role that creators play" in the UK's creative industries and the fact that they help "to drive billions into the economy" and support more than 45,000 jobs. "We understand more can be done to help creators reach their full potential, which is why we are backing them through our new Creative Industries Sector Plan," he said. "The UK has got a fantastic history of supporting the creative industries," said Ben Woods, a creator economy analyst, Midia Research who was not involved in the report. "Whether you look at the film side, lots of blockbuster films are being shot here, or television, which is making waves on the global stage. "But perhaps the government needs to broaden that lens a little bit to look at just what's going on within the creator economy as well, because it is highly valuable, it's where younger audiences are spending a lot of their time and [the UK is] really good at it." According to YouTube, formal recognition would mean creators are factored into official economic impact data reporting, are represented on government creative bodies, and receive creator-specific guidance from HMRC on taxes and finances. For some, financial guidance and clarity would be invaluable; the 'creator' job title seems to cause problems when applying for mortgages or bank loans. "It's really difficult as a freelancer to get things like mortgages and bank accounts and credit and those types of things," said podcaster David Brown, who owns a recording studio for creators. "A lot of people make very good money doing it," he told Sky News. "They're very well supported. They have a lot of cash flow, and they are successful at doing that job. It's just the way society and banking and everything is set up. It makes it really difficult." The creative industries minister said he is committed to appointing a creative freelance champion and increasing support from the British Business Bank in order to "help creators thrive and drive even more growth in the sector". The government has already pledged to boost the UK's creative industries, launching a plan to make the UK the number one destination for creative investment and promising an extra £14bn to the sector by 2035. These influencers want to make sure they are recognised as part of that.
