BBC personnel with the authority to cut Bob Vylan’s live stream at Glastonbury were ‘on the ground on the day’ of the controversial performance.
Worthy Farm’s West Holt stage saw the punk duo – comprising of frontman Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan – spark controversy at the end of June that has resulted in a criminal investigation.
During their set, they led crowds at the festival into a frenzy with chants of ‘free, free Palestine’ and ‘death to the IDF’, which was broadcast on the BBC.
The band is now being investigated by the police, with Glastonbury and the BBC condemning their performance.
The BBC director-general, Tim Davie, has now confirmed: ‘Cutting the livestream was an option open to those on the ground on the day.’
In the letter responding to questions sent by Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Davie added that the BBC had over 500 staff members there.
‘There were 550 personnel working for the BBC at Glastonbury. Of these 328 were working for BBC Studios (camera crew, rigging, technical and production roles), 35 providing coverage for BBC News, and 187 other BBC public service, working across a wide range of roles, including technical crew, producers, presenters, engineers, runners, commissioners and compliance staff.’
He added that he had ‘deep regret’ about the broadcast: ‘There were failures in our coverage which led to offensive content being broadcast live. I deeply regret that such deplorable behaviour appeared on the BBC and want to apologise to our viewers and listeners, and in particular the Jewish community.
‘In considering what to learn from this, my immediate priority was to take swift actions, as detailed above, to mitigate against anything similar happening in the future.
‘At the same time, we are taking actions to ensure there is proper accountability for those found to be responsible for the failings in the live broadcast; and we are urgently reviewing our guidelines to see if any further measures are needed.’
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Since the Glastonbury set, Bob Vylan has reportedly been dropped by United Talent Agency (UTA), had their visas for their US tour revoked, and had concerts cancelled.
In a post on July 14, the group announced that they’d no longer be joining Gogol Bordello on their European Tour.
‘Due to logistical complications, we have decided not to join our friends Gogol Bordello on their upcoming European Tour. However, we will be heading to Europe in the coming months for both festivals and headline shows,’ said the statement.
Making his first public appearance since the Glastonbury performance, Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, appeared at a sold-out surprise gig in London on July 9.
At the intimate concert at The 100 Club on Wednesday night, some fans started to repeat the Glastonbury chant of ‘death to the IDF’.
Vylan is said to have quickly responded to his fans, saying: ‘You are going to get me in trouble,’ before leading the crowd in a chant of ‘Free, free Palestine’.
The 34-year-old added: ‘I am pretty tired. It’s been a busy week, been a busy couple of days. Just putting out fires, you know?’
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