BBC must stop broadcasting Glastonbury: Hate speech can never have a national platform, writes Chris Philp
On Saturday, Bob Vylan, a punk duo, performed at Glastonbury Festival. During their set, the frontman chanted ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine, must be, will be free’ and ‘death, death to the IDF.’
Listen to this article
Everyone watching will have also seen the crowd’s reaction to the band: chanting back ‘death, death to the IDF’ and cheering.
The frontman of Bob Vylan also sang “I heard you want your country back? Ha! Shut the f*** up!”
Ordinary British people are concerned about what is happening to this country, they see the effects of mass immigration, record high taxes, a welfare bill set to reach £100 billion by the end of the decade, and now they are being told to ‘shut the f*** up.’ They must not ‘shut the f*** up’, they must continue to speak out about how to make this country somewhere they are proud to call home again.
Avon and Somerset Police still do not have an update on whether they are investigating Bob Vylan, two days after they said they were reviewing the video evidence.
This is not good enough.
It seems clear Vylan was inciting violence and hatred. They should be arrested and prosecuted, to ensure that the Government are meeting the standards they set last summer, in response to the riots following the murder of three girls in Southport.
The police must also urgently investigate and prosecute the BBC for broadcasting the performance. Our national broadcaster should not be transmitting hateful material designed to incite violence and conflict, especially when taxpayer’s money is being used to broadcast the festival.
Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, must urgently investigate how the BBC allowed this to be broadcasted, including the role of the Director General of the BBC, Tim Davie.
It is not enough for the BBC to condemn the comments made by Bob Vylan after they had already given this band a platform.
In April, I wrote to the organisers of Glastonbury Festival, urging them to cancel Kneecap’s invitation to play at the festival.
I said they should not be providing a platform or legitimacy to a group that allegedly incited the murder of democratically elected MPs and expressed support for terrorist groups.
They did not respond to my letter, and it seems they have provided a platform for multiple groups with hateful views.
If they continue to give a platform to artists who are inciting hate and violence, that is a choice for the organisers – but enough is enough, the BBC must stop broadcasting Glastonbury Festival.
Chris Philp is Shadow Home Secretary and Conservative MP for Croydon South.
LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.
To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk