Mail on Sunday falsely claims Glastonbury crowd chanted 'death to Israelis'
A national scandal has erupted in the UK after the band Bob Vylan led a chant of "death, death to the IDF [Israeli Defence Forces]" during their set at the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday.
The BBC, which aired the performance live, on Monday accused Bob Vylan of "antisemitic sentiments"
On Monday afternoon, the band was dropped as a client by United Talent Agency (UTA) - which declined to comment on why it did so.
The British grime-punk duo led the chant alongside "free Palestine" and "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" while performing to a crowd of thousands on Saturday afternoon.
Footage of the chant quickly went viral and sparked outrage.
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One national newspaper, the Mail on Sunday, falsely claimed in the headline of its cover story that the band chanted "death to Israelis", which they had not.
This was never said but here it is in quotes on the front page of a national newspaper. It’s a calculated lie and it’s libellous. pic.twitter.com/8Ym5gd9W4N
— Barry Malone (@malonebarry) June 29, 2025
Prominent supporters of Israel's bombardment of Gaza encouraged British police to arrest the artists.
Avon and Somerset Police said on Saturday evening it was assessing video evidence of Bob Vylan's performance "to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation".
On Monday Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Bob Vylan for what he called "appalling hate speech".
BBC under investigation
Glastonbury Festival itself called Bob Vylan's chant "appalling", and said the chants had "crossed a line".
"[T]here is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence," the organisers said.
The Conservative party's shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, went further by claiming on Sunday that "Vylan was inciting violence and hatred" and should be arrested.
Several people on social media responded to Philp and to similar posts by other users, saying Bob Vylan had not called for the killing of Israeli soldiers, but had rather wished death on the Israeli military as an institution.
Philp went on to urge police to "investigate and prosecute the BBC", Britain's public broadcaster, for broadcasting the performance.
It seems clear Vylan was inciting violence and hatred.
— Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) June 29, 2025
They should be arrested and prosecuted - just like the Government insisted happen during the riots last summer.
By broadcasting his vile hatred, the BBC appear to have also broken the law.
I call on the Police to urgently…
Press regulator Ofcom announced on Monday that it is investigating the BBC, saying the broadcaster "clearly has questions to answer".
A BBC spokesperson claimed on Monday that Bob Vylan expressed "antisemitic sentiments" that "have no place on our airwaves".
The spokesperson did not clarify which of the duo's statements were antisemitic or explain why.
"In light of this weekend, we will 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."
The BBC in 2020 defended airing an episode of its panel show Have I got News For You after it featured a comedian jokingly advocating the bombing of Glastonbury to get rid of supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader.
'I said what I said'
The band's two members are known by their stage names Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan.
"I said what I said," Bobby Vylan posted on Instagram on Sunday.
“Let us display to [future generations] loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change. Let them see us marching in the streets, campaigning on ground level, organising online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered.”
In a further escalation, the Israeli government waded into the debate with its embassy in London denouncing "inflammatory and hateful rhetoric" at Glastonbury and specifically criticising the chant "from the river to the sea".
This statement drew widespread derision online.
Prominent historian William Dalrymple called the statement a "bit rich", noting that the chant is a "favourite usage of the Israeli Ambassador herself".
Tzipi Hotovely has for years opposed the creation of a Palestinian state and insisted Israel has a claim to the land from the river to the sea.
Bit rich for the Israeli Embassy in the UK to complain about the chant "From the River to the Sea," when its a favourite usage of the Israeli Ambassador herself: "World should recognise Israel's historic claim to land from river to sea, says Tzipi Hotovely" https://t.co/UBUBZUTfyl pic.twitter.com/kPeBY3V12K
— William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) June 29, 2025
British Health Secretary Wes Streeting responded by telling the Israeli embassy to "get your own house in order", pointing to settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank - although he also criticised Bob Vylan's chant.
'Why is our media and political class more outraged by musicians showing solidarity with Palestine than by a UK government directly complicit in genocide?'
Zarah Sultana, Labour MP
Independent MP Adnan Hussain struck a different note to most politicians, saying on social media platform X: "Personally, I find genocide way more offensive than how an artist chooses to express their anger, over said genocide."
So did Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who asked: "Why is our media and political class more outraged by musicians showing solidarity with Palestine than by a UK government directly complicit in genocide?
"Condemn war criminals, not musicians."
Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former director of communications, questioned the media outcry over Bob Vylan's chant, highlighting in a post on X that hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli assaults targeting or impacting aid seekers.
"I don’t recall these incidents (including this weekend) leading many papers or news bulletins," he said.
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