The BBC has said it “regrets” not cutting its live stream of Bob Vylan‘s controversial performance at Glastonbury after the duo expressed “antisemitic sentiments.”
The BBC initially said it would not be making the set available on-demand but has now gone further, expressing regret at a failure to pull the live stream halfway through.
The corporation noted that it will now “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.” This came after a spokeswoman for Ofcom said the media regulator has been speaking to the BBC all weekend to “obtain further information as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines.”
Vylan, a punk duo, chanted “death to the IDF” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be, free,” while complaining about working for a “f***ing Zionist.”
A statement 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. We welcome Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance.”
The BBC went on to say that “the team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance,” adding: “We regret this did not happen.”
The BBC was commenting after it drew the ire of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, media regulator Ofcom and ex-BBC TV chief Danny Cohen.
Starmer had called on the BBC to “explain how these scenes came to be broadcast,” while Nandy said she had urgently spoken with BBC Director General Tim Davie about the matter.
Part of the BBC’s slow pace at dealing with Bob Vylan was due to a laser focus on a different act, Kneecap.
The Irish hip-hop trio, which played shortly after Bob Vylan on the same stage, were not shown live over hate speech fears, but it was Bob Vylan that ended up causing the most controversy. Some have even called for BBC bosses to be prosecuted over the Vylan remarks.
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