TheBBChas said it should have cut the live stream of Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance, saying it contained “utterly unacceptable” antisemitic sentiments.
The corporation and its director general, Tim Davie, have come under significant pressure from Keir Starmer and ministers following the broadcast on Saturday in which the musician Bobby Vylan of the punk-rap duo Bob Vylanled chants of “Free, free Palestine”and “Death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]”.
The BBC initially acknowledged some of the comments were “deeply offensive”. It said a warning was issued on screen about the “very strong and discriminatory language” at the time.
However, in a statement released on Monday, it went further, saying it should not have allowed the comments to be broadcast and would look to update its guidance around live events.
“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive,” it 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 performance was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on BBC iPlayer. The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines. In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.
“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.”