BBC speaks out in the wake of Kneecap and Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performances and BANS one of the acts from on demand… after Starmer blasted the broadcaster

 The BBC has spoken out in the wake of Kneecap and Bob Vylan’s controversial Glastonbury performances – and has banned one of them from on-demand viewing. 

The grime-punk duo, named for US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, are being investigated after allegedly calling for ‘Death to the IDF’ during their performance at Worthy Farm, shown live by the BBC on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, the Irish language rap trio were not streamed live by the BBC – but the broadcaster faced calls, including from Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch, for the band to be dropped after one member was charged with a terror offence. 

The group’s lead rapper Liam O’Hanna, 27, whose stage name is Mo Chara, is on unconditional bail after being charged with terrorism for supporting Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation. 

It came after he appeared in court last week after being charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah while saying ‘up Hamas, up Hezbollah’ at a gig in November last year.

And now, the BBC has spoken out about its stance on both acts, saying it has made Kneecap’s performance available to stream on iPlayer. 

Meanwhile, it has ‘no plans’ to make Bob Vylan’s performance available on demand, citing the ‘deeply offensive’ language the pair used onstage.  

A BBC spokesperson said of Kneecap: ‘We have made an on-demand version of Kneecap’s performance available on iPlayer, as part of our online collection of more than 90 other sets. 

The BBC has spoken out in the wake of Kneecap and Bob Vylan’s controversial Glastonbury performances – and has banned one of them from on-demand viewing. Pictured: DJ Provai of Kneecap at Glastonbury on Saturday  

The grime-punk duo (pictured at Glastonbury), named for US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan , are being investigated after allegedly calling for ‘Death to the IDF’ during their performance at Worthy Farm, shown live by the BBC on Saturday 

And now, the BBC has spoken out about its stance on both acts, saying it has made Kneecap’s performance available to stream on iPlayer. Pictured: A member of the crowd amid a sea of Palestinian flags as Kneecap start to play their set

‘We have edited it to ensure the content falls within the limits of artistic expression in line with our editorial guidelines and reflects the performance from Glastonbury’s West Holts stage. 

‘As with all content which includes strong language, this is signposted with appropriate warnings.

‘As we have said before, acts are booked by the festival, and the BBC doesn’t ban artists. We didn’t stream Kneecap live.’

They added of Bob Vylan: ‘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.’ 

It came as Starmer blasted chants led by the punk duo ‘Death, death to the IDF’ as ‘appalling hate speech’ and demanded answers from the BBC on how they were broadcast to viewers.

The Prime Minister said: ‘There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech.

‘I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.

‘The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.’

Later on in Kneecap’s hour-long set, Mo Chara said: ‘The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play so f*** Keir Starmer,’ before leading a chant against him.

The band’s third member DJ Provai, whose real name is JJ Ó Dochartaigh, removed a red boiler suit to reveal a Palestine Action t-shirt – a group the government are preparing to ban under UK anti-terrorism laws.

The band’s third member DJ Provai, whose real name is JJ Ó Dochartaigh, removed a red boiler suit to reveal a Palestine Action t-shirt (pictured) – a group the government are preparing to ban under UK anti-terrorism laws 

The controversial Irish language band took to social media an hour before their performance and posted a photo of DJ Provai wearing the shirt which read ‘We are all Palestine Action’ after the government moved to proscribe the organisation, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action.

In an interview with The Sun, Sir Keir was asked if he thought the trio should perform at Glastonbury, to which he replied: ‘No, I don’t, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this.

‘This is about the threats that shouldn’t be made, I won’t say too much because there’s a court case on, but I don’t think that’s appropriate.’

Conservative Party leader Ms Badenoch previously said she thought the BBC ‘should not be showing’ Kneecap’s performance at the festival.

She wrote in a post on X: ‘The BBC should not be showing Kneecap propaganda.

‘One Kneecap band member is currently on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act.

‘As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism.’

Tensions had already been running high before Kneecap’s set began as they were directly preceded by the hip hop duo, Bob Vylan, who led chants of ‘Death to the IDF’, referencing the Israel Defence Force.

In an interview with The Sun, Sir Keir was asked if he thought the trio should perform at Glastonbury, to which he replied: ‘No, I don’t, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this’. Pictured: Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance  

Police have now launched a probe into the comments made by the band during their set at Glastonbury on Saturday afternoon.

And the Labour government has ‘strongly condemned’ the scenes aired live on the BBC.

Bob Vylan, consisting of singer and guitarist Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan, led crowds in chants of ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Death to the IDF’, prompting fury from supporters of Israel on social media.

But the musician took to social media early on Sunday morning to address the backlash to his performance.

Posing with a tub of pink ice cream, he wrote: ‘While zionists are crying on socials, I’ve just had late night (vegan) ice cream.’

Bob Vylan’s performance can now no longer be rewatched on BBC iPlayer as coverage of the West Holts stage at Glastonbury only goes back to around 5pm.

In response, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has demanded an ‘urgent explanation’ from Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director General.

A government spokesperson said: ‘We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.

Tensions had already been running high before Kneecap’s set began as they were directly preceded by the hip hop duo, Bob Vylan (pictured at Glastonbury this weekend) 

‘The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC Director General to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer.’

In a post on X, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that officers will assess video evidence of the performance ‘to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation’.

The Embassy of Israel in the UK said they were ‘deeply disturbed’ by the ‘inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at Glastonbury’.

In a statement on X, a spokesperson for the embassy wrote: ‘Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy. But when speech crosses into incitement, hatred, and advocacy of ethnic cleansing, it must be called out – especially when amplified by public figures on prominent platforms.

The embassy urged Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK ‘to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred’.

In a comment to MailOnline, Glastonbury Festival said: ‘Glastonbury Festival does not condone hate speech or incitement to violence of any kind from its performers.’

As Kneecap walked onto the stage, they played a compilation of their critics’ voices over the speakers, starting with a BBC broadcast announcing the terrorism charges against Mo Charah.

It was followed by the former DUP leader, Arlene Foster, when she infamously said, ‘I live rent free in their head’ as she features on their posters and lyrics after she expressed they had ‘overstepped the mark’ with their comments about Hamas and Hezbollah.

The musician took to social media early on Sunday morning (pictured) to address the backlash to his performance 

On their Instagram, the band put out a statement which read: ‘The crowd expected today is far greater than West Holts capacity so “You’ll need to be very early to catch us father… very early”.’

The stage, which has a capacity for 30,000 people, was shut 47 minutes before the trio were due to perform on the West Holts stage at 4pm to avoid severe overcrowding in the area.

Already, some 45 minutes before their set was to start, the area surrounding the stage was already rammed with festivalgoers, many waving Irish or Palestinian flags.

They also hit out at the BBC in the same statement calling it ‘the propaganda wing of the regime’.

To finish their set, the group led chants of ‘Free, Free Palestine’ and ‘f*** Keir Starmer’ as the crowd was filled with flags supporting Gaza.

Mo Chara, wearing a keffiyeh, said ‘Glastonbury, I’m a free man’ as the Irish rap trio took to the stage.

The group thanked Glastonbury organisers the Eavis family for their support and attacked the British justice system for his arrest.

The group has defended their previous provocative performances as ‘satirical’ ahead of performing at Glastonbury, as the BBC said it would not be livestreaming their set.

As Kneecap walked onto the stage, they played a compilation of their critics’ voices over the speakers. Pictured: Kneecap’s set at Glastonbury  

Instead, thousands tuned into a stream of the show on TikTok by a middle-aged woman called Helen.

Speaking to the packed-out crowd, the group said: ‘Israel are war criminals. It’s a genocide.

‘I can see so many Palestine flags, the BBC editing, they are going to have some f***ing problems.

‘Glastonbury I am so f***ing proud of you guys.’

Mo Chara, along with bandmates Naoise Ó Caireallain (Móglaí Bap), and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvaí), have repeatedly argued controversy surrounding their performances is a distraction from the horrors endured by Palestinians amid Israel’s war in Gaza.

They said they are happy to lose income and clout in order to be ‘on the right side of history’, and said they hoped that ‘being vocal and being unafraid’ would encourage other bands to speak up on Palestine.

As the trio took to the stage, they displayed a huge ‘Free Palestine’ message on the screen behind them.

Mo Chara said: ‘We understand how important it is to show solidarity. The Irish suffered 800 years of colonialism at the hand of the British state, boo.

Speaking to the packed-out crowd, the group said: ‘Israel are war criminals. It’s a genocide’. Pictured: A woman waves the flag of Palestine while waiting to watch the hip hop trio Kneecap

‘But guys we were never bombed from the skies with nowhere to go, the Palestinians have nowhere to f***ing go.

‘Not only are they being bombed from the skies, they are now being starved to death.

‘Kids are being starved to death in this day and age. I don’t have the luxury of you people watching, we all have a phone, there’s no f***ing hiding it – Israel are war criminals.

‘And it’s important I know sometimes, I’m seeing a lot of Palestinian flags here and it’s what we’re saying.

‘The BBC are going to rescind you all. So sometimes we feel helpless and that we’re not doing enough and that’s probably true sometimes but the difference it makes for the people of Palestine when they see people from the other side of the world, this many people, screaming free Palestine. ‘

The set list for performances on the stage aired on iPlayer did not acknowledge Kneecap is playing – leaping from Bob Vylan at 14.30 straight to Yussef Dayes at 17.30.

Fans of Kneecap gathered outside court earlier this month to support Mo Chara as he appeared for a hearing after being accused of a terrorism offence.

Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in November last year.

Fans of Kneecap gathered outside court earlier this month (pictured) to support Mo Chara as he appeared for a hearing after being accused of a terrorism offence 

Liam Og O hAnnaidh (pictured), who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in November last year 

The 27-year-old arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18 following the alleged incident during a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, North London.

Following a short hearing, he was released on unconditional bail until his next hearing on August 20 when legal argument will be dealt with.

Upon arrival, he got out of a vehicle with bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and J J O Dochartaigh, meeting a scrum of hundreds of supporters who cheered as they arrived.

The band were wearing ‘Free Mo Chara’ T-shirts.

Og O hAnnaidh wore sunglasses, a black t-shirt, trousers and black jacket and held a Keffiyeh – a type of shawl often worn by supporters of the pro-Palestine movement – and his cheering fans chanted ‘Free, free Palestine and ‘Free, free Mo Chara’.

The members then walked up the stairs of the court and looked over the balcony, smiling and giving a thumbs up to their supporters gathered outside.

Members of the crowd had surged around the entrance, with some also entering the lobby.

This is a breaking story. More updates to follow.