The authorities in Britain said on Monday that they had opened a criminal investigation into statements by the British punk duo Bob Vylan during a performance at the Glastonbury music festival over the weekend, in which the lead singer led the crowd in chants of “Death, death to the I.D.F.,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
The Avon and Somerset police said in a statement that they had opened the investigation after reviewing audio and video recordings of the band’s performance on Saturday.
In a sign of a growing crisis enveloping the previously little-known punk band, Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, said on X that the State Department had revoked the band’s U.S. visas. “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” he said.
Bob Vylan, who played shows in the United States last month, was scheduled to return to the country to play several dates in the fall, starting in Spokane, Wash., on Oct. 24 and wrapping up in Los Angeles on Nov. 19. As of Monday, the dates remained on the band’s website.
Representatives for United Talent Agency, the band’s booking agent, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Hollywood Reporter on Monday reported that the agency had ended its relationship with the punk duo, who are known for fast-paced political songs touching on issues including racism, poverty and toxic masculinity.
The announcement of the police investigation on Monday came a day after Prime Minister Kier Starmer of Britain and the organizers of the Glastonbury festival had said they were appalled by the chants by the band’s lead singer, Bobby Vylan.
Glastonbury, Britain’s biggest music festival, had already been facing criticism for its decision to allow Kneecap, a Northern Irish rap group, to perform on Saturday, despite pressure from broadcasters and politicians to cut the act after the band voiced anti-Israel statements and one member faced a terrorism charge.
Kneecap’s performance was such a draw at the festival that the arena was already full for Bob Vylan’s set an hour beforehand.
The chants by Bobby Vylan, which were broadcast live on the BBC, drew immediate condemnation from politicians in the United Kingdom.
“There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech,” Mr. Starmer said in his statement on Sunday. “I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.”
Mr. Starmer added, “The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.”
The BBC said in a statement on Monday that it should have cut away from live coverage of Bob Vylan’s performance. “The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream,” the statement said. “We regret this did not happen.”
Israel’s embassy in London, as well as some Jewish groups, accused Glastonbury of promoting hate. The Avon and Somerset police said they were investigating the matter as a “public order incident.”
“We have received a large amount of contact in relation to these events from people across the world and recognize the strength of public feeling,” the police said in a statement. “There is absolutely no place in society for hate.”
Glastonbury said in a statement on Instagram that “with almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs.”
“However,” the statement continued, “we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday.”
“Their chants very much crossed a line,” the statement added, “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.”
The members of Bob Vylan could not be reached for comment.
On Instagram on Saturday night, the band’s lead singer, Bobby Vylan, posted a selfie with a cup of ice cream, captioned: “While zionists are crying on socials, I’ve just had late night (vegan) ice cream.”
Late Sunday, the singer posted a second message on Instagram saying he had been “inundated with messages of both support and hatred,” since the show.
Not all British lawyers saw the police as having a strong case against the band. Jolyon Maugham, a founder of the Good Law Project, who has posted on social media about the furor around Bob Vylan’s concert, said in a telephone interview that the band’s singer directed his comments at the Israeli army, rather than the Jewish people. Some may have been offended, he added, but the statements were “a very different thing” to a crime.
In April, Kneecap — whose Glastonbury performance was also the subject of the Avon and Somerset police investigation — lost its U.S. visa sponsor after making anti-Israel statements at Coachella.
The next month, the police in Britain charged Mo Chara, one of the band’s rappers, with a terrorism offense for displaying the flag of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia, onstage at a London show last November.
Several festivals and venues dropped the band from their lineups.
The BBC had said previously that it would cut off its traditional Glastonbury livestreaming for Kneecap’s performance on Saturday. But it did broadcast Bob Vylan’s performance live. During the show, dozens in the crowd waved Palestinian flags.
“You know this is live on the BBC so we have to be careful what we say,” Mr. Vylan said during the set on Saturday.
He went on to chant several pro-Palestinian messages and voiced support for “our mates Kneecap.” He led the crowd in a chant of “Free, free Palestine!” before pivoting into a separate phrase.
“Aye, but have you heard this one though,” the singer said. “Death, death to the I.D.F.!”
Comments in support of Palestinians are common from Glastonbury stages, but anti-Israel comments are unusual and fewer fans joined in with the chant than with other declarations.
“I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to be answered about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens,” Wes Streeting, Britain’s health secretary, told Sky News on Sunday.
He called the comments a “shameless publicity stunt.”
Ali Watkins covers international news for The Times and is based in London.
Alex Marshall is a Times reporter covering European culture. He is based in London.
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