The BBC is facing enormous fury from politicians and ex-bosses this morning after two acts call for “death to the Israeli Defence Force” and “free Palestine” on stage. Amid a police investigation into breaching public order, the BBC has also come under furious fire, including from the Israeli government itself.
This morning, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he thought the broadcast had been “appalling”. Speaking on Sky News, the top Cabinet minister said: “I think the BBC and Glastonbury have questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens.” He also blasted the performers in question for a “shameless publicity stunt which I don’t want to give too much indulgence to.”
Last night Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel called for a full police investigation, fuming: “Twenty months ago, in the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, 378 Israelis were butchered at a music festival on October 7.
“Today’s spectacle at Glastonbury is truly disgusting. They seem to forget that 50 hostages remain in Hamas hell in Gaza. This must be investigated by police.”
Dame Louise Ellman, former Labour. MP and vice-chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, branded the anti-Israel chanting “extremely chilling” and “very frightening”.
She blasted Glastonbury’s statement last night, which said the festival “does not condone hate speech or incitement of violence of any kind”.
Dame Louise said Glastonbury’s comment “just isn’t enough”. “It can’t be acceptable for people with such experience and with some anticipation of what might well happen to sit back and say it’s okay to have the hate speech, it’s okay to have a crowd whipped up on hatred at a very volatile time, hatred towards a minority community in this country and say that that’s okay.”
“The organiser of the festival have to take their responsibility as does the performer and the people who then broadcast it. This cannot be ignored.”
Meanwhile a former BBC executive said this morning that his former bosses “should have cancelled the broadcast”.
Roger Bolton told Times Radio: “I think the BBC should have cut away and cancelled the broadcast.”
“It’s something the BBC should not have allowed to have happened.”
Last night Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice branded this year’s Somerset music festival “a cauldron of vile antisemitic racism”.
He was echoed by Labour MP Mike Tapp, who told the Express: “I couldn’t help but feel what I was watching was more of a hate festival than a celebration of music and culture.”
A government spokesperson said: ‘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.’
