Bob Vylan: BBC says live coverage of Glastonbury set should have been pulled

The BBC has said it should have cut away from a live broadcast of Bob Vylan’s performance at Glastonbury, during which the band’s singer led the crowd in chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]”.

In a statement issued on Monday, the BBC said: “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.”

It comes after the broadcast regulator Ofcom said the BBC “clearly has questions to answer” over its coverage, and the government questioned why the comments were aired live.

The organisers of Glastonbury have previously said they were “appalled” by the comments, which “crossed a line”.

On Monday, a BBC spokesperson said: “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.”

A statement continued: “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.”

The BBC has previously said the performance had carried a warning on screen and would not be made available to watch on iPlayer.

The controversy surrounds comments made by Bob Vylan’s singer – who goes by the stage name Bobby Vylan – during their performance at the festival on Saturday.

During part of the band’s set, the singer also chanted “free, free Palestine” and used the expression “from the river to sea, Palestine will be free”. Some use the chant as a call for Palestinian control of all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Israel.

Critics say the slogan is a call for the destruction of the state of Israel.

That interpretation is disputed by pro-Palestinian activists who say that most people chanting it are calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza, not the destruction of Israel itself.

On Monday, Ofcom said it was in contact with the BBC and had asked for clarification over why the comments were broadcast.

A spokesperson for the regulator said: “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.”

Bob Vylan are a London-based English punk-rap duo, who formed in Ipswich in 2017. They have previously performed at Reading and Leeds festivals and toured with the likes of the Offspring, the Hives and Biffy Clyro.

On Sunday, its singer released a statement on Instagram with “I said what I said” as an accompanying message.

In it, he defended political activism in general without referencing Saturday’s performance directly, writing that is important for young people to see campaigners “shouting… on any and every stage that we are offered”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer branded the on-stage remarks “hate speech” and there has been cross-party condemnation of both the chants and the BBC’s coverage of them.

Shortly after the performance, the government said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had pressed BBC director general Tim Davie for an urgent explanation.

Glastonbury’s organisers have also distanced themselves from Bob Vylan’s performance.

They said: “Their chants very much crossed a line and 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.”