Senior figures under pressure as live broadcast of ‘death to the IDF’ chant sparks fury, with no clear answer on who made the call to let it air
The BBC is facing mounting pressure to explain who in its control room failed to stop a live Glastonbury performance in which punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanted “death to the IDF”, with thousands of festivalgoers chanting it back.
The chant was led by frontman Bobby Vylan – real name Pascal Robinson-Foster – during Saturday’s performance on the West Holts stage.
Despite the deeply controversial scenes, the set was not taken off air at the time. Instead, it remained on the BBC’s livestream for several hours, prompting questions over the broadcaster’s editorial judgment and chain of command.
It has since emerged that BBC Director-General Tim Davie was on-site at the Somerset festival and was informed of the incident shortly after it happened.
While Davie reportedly instructed that the performance should not be made available on demand, the livestream continued, unedited, for another five hours.
Critics are now asking: if not Davie, then who was responsible for allowing the chants to go out live? Why wasn’t the plug pulled in real time? And what does this say about the BBC’s internal controls during live broadcasts?
The BBC’s own Culture and Media Editor, Katie Razzall, highlighted the dilemma in an article for the BBC News website, headlined “Did BBC’s focus on one potential Glastonbury controversy miss another?” In the piece, she posed the critical question: “Why didn’t someone in the moment decide to cut away?” She added that “difficult editorial judgments have to be made in real time,” especially when broadcasting a volatile live event like Glastonbury.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy condemned what she called “appalling and unacceptable scenes” and said the government was “exasperated” by what appeared to be a failure of leadership and operational oversight.
“I expect answers to these questions without delay,” she said.The chants, led by Robinson-Foster, included repeated cries of “death, death to the IDF” – referring to the Israel Defence Forces – with many in the crowd echoing the chant back.Bob Vylan had been scheduled to introduce the Irish rap trio Kneecap, who are also under scrutiny following their set on the same stage.
During their performance, Vylan also led chants of “Free, free Palestine” alongside the more incendiary slogans.
Davie, who was visiting BBC staff at the festival on Saturday afternoon, was told about the incident shortly after it took place. He reportedly moved to ensure the set would not appear on iPlayer, but the livestream – including the chant – remained accessible for several hours.
The BBC has expressed regret over the decision not to pull the feed at the time. Lisa Nandy suggested the incident should have been foreseeable and reflected “a problem of leadership” at the broadcaster.
Broadcasting regulator Ofcom said it was “very concerned” by the decision.“When you have one editorial failure, it’s something that must be gripped,” Nandy said. “When you have several, it becomes a problem of leadership.”
A BBC source said: “Tim was there for a few hours to see the team. He was made aware during the time he was there of what had been said on stage. He intervened to make sure the performance was not made available on demand and he was very clear about that.
Pulling the livestream brings certain technological challenges. With hindsight, we would have taken it down. He would have asked what the options were, but it isn’t as straightforward as hitting a button and taking it down.”
But the central question remains: Why wasn't the decision made to pull the plug in real time?
In their set immediately after Bob Vylan, Irish rap group Kneecap also led chants of “Free Palestine.” Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, currently facing a terrorism-related charge, wore a keffiyeh during the performance, while JJ Ó Dochartaigh wore a t-shirt that read, “We are all Palestine Action” – referencing the soon-to-be-banned protest group.
On Monday, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they had launched a formal investigation into both performances after reviewing footage and audio. A senior detective has been appointed to lead the inquiry.
In a Commons statement, Lisa Nandy said the government remained supportive of the BBC as an institution but criticised its failure to act decisively: “That is why we are so disappointed that this has happened, and why we have been so exasperated with the lack of account from the leadership — not just about this, but about a previous Gaza documentary and other issues as well.The BBC is one of the most important institutions in our country, and that is the reason why it is held to the highest of standards.”
She added the incident had raised “very, very serious questions at the highest levels of the BBC about the operational oversight and the way in which editorial standards are understood,” and said she expected to see “rapid action” from the broadcaster.In a statement issued Monday, the BBC said:“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output, but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive.
"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.
"We welcome Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance. The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines. In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. 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.”
Glastonbury Festival itself also condemned Bob Vylan’s chants, saying it was “appalled” by what was said on stage.
“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,” organisers said in a statement on Instagram.
Bob Vylan, formed in Ipswich in 2017, have released four albums addressing issues of racism, masculinity, and class. Robinson-Foster, 34, later defended the performance on Instagram, saying: “Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.As we grow older and our fire starts to possibly dim under the suffocation of adult life and all its responsibilities, it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.”
