Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has expressed her outrage at the BBC for airing Bob Vylan’s controversial Glastonbury Festival performance, telling the broadcaster to “take a hard look at themselves”.
In a live broadcast of the performance, the rap duo encouraged the audience at the festival on Saturday to chant “death to the IDF”, sparking widespread criticism against the BBC.
Speaking to GB News, Patel said the decision by the BBC to allow the performance to be broadcast live with only an on-screen warning is “absolutely horrific”.
Patel told GB News host Ben Leo: “I think the BBC need to have a good, hard look at themselves right now. Their record over Israel and the conflicts over recent years, since October 7, has been utterly appalling.
Priti Patel has expressed her outrage at the BBC’s decision to broadcast Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance
GB News / PA
“They’ve had record numbers of complaints about their own reporting, they’ve failed in the past to effectively call Hamas a terrorist organisation, I was responsible for proscribing them, and what we have seen today is absolutely unacceptable for what is still considered to be our national broadcaster.”
Highlighting that the BBC is still a “taxpayer-funded institution”, Patel fumed: “Let’s not forget, we are all paying for the BBC, it’s a taxpayer-funded institution.
“I grew up watching the BBC when they used to have concerts such as Live Aid on and they used to make us feel incredibly proud, when there was the people coming together to do good things in the world.”
She added: “And now you see the BBC and Glastonbury promoting and inciting violence against Jewish people and effectively speaking the language of terror and hate. That is just not right.”
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Police are ‘assessing’ Bob Vylan’s comments after starting an anti-IDF chant at Glastonbury Festival PACalling for figures within the BBC to be “held accountable” as a result, Patel told GB News: “It’s unacceptable, and some big names need to be called to account, and I would actually go as far to say some heads need to roll at the BBC.
“What on earth is going on with the BBC? This is just simply not acceptable at all.”
Questioning why there were no preliminary checks on Glastonbury performers, Patel suggested that the BBC “knew” the nature of the artists scheduled to perform: “The question is, the BBC knew this was coming.
“They would have had advanced sight of the performers that turn up at this so-called festival, performing the way in which they do.
“Surely these people at the BBC would have checked out potential playlists, all this kind of stuff. There are serious questions to be asked of the BBC.”
Patel told GB News that the broadcaster needs to ‘have a good, hard look at itself’
GB News
In response to the broadcast, a BBC spokesman said: “Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive.
“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”
Glastonbury Festival has said it is “appalled” by the actions.
In a statement, as spokesman 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.”
