The government has “strongly condemned” chants at Glastonbury Festival from rap punk duo Bob Vylan calling for “death” to the Israeli military and broadcast live on the BBC.
Rapper Bobby Vylan led chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]” during their set, which came just before Belfast rap trio Kneecap.
A BBC spokesperson said some of the comments were “deeply offensive”, adding it had issued a warning on screen about “very strong and discriminatory language”. The set will not be available to rewatch on BBC iPlayer.
Police said they were reviewing videos of comments made by Bob Vylan and Kneecap to decide whether any offences had been committed.
After Bob Vylan’s performance, a government spokesperson said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had spoken to BBC director general Tim Davie to seek an “urgent explanation about what due diligence” the broadcaster carried out ahead of airing the act.
The government added that it welcomed the decision not to re-broadcast the performance on BBC iPlayer.
Bob Vylan’s set on the festival’s West Holts stage came ahead of Irish-language rap group Kneecap.
The group have made headlines in recent months after rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying the flag of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a gig last year. He has denied the charge.
Kneecap’s highly-charged performance on Saturday was watched by thousands and hit back at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with expletive-laden chants, after he previously called the band’s Glastonbury appearance “not appropriate”.
Mr Ó hAnnaidh is on bail after a court hearing in London two weeks ago.
Following the sets from Bob Vylan and Kneecap, Avon and Somerset Police said it would review footage of comments made by acts on the West Holts stage.
The force said footage “will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation”.