British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the British punk duo “Bob Vylan” for calling for the “death“ of Israeli troops, calling the performers' performance at the Glastonbury festival “appalling hate speech“, BNR reported.
The organizers of the Glastonbury festival said they were “shocked“ after the band's frontman led the audience in chants with the words “Free, free Palestine“ and “Death, death to the Israelis” troops“.
In a statement, Keir Starmer said the BBC had questions to answer about the live broadcast of the band's performance on Saturday.
A spokesman for the corporation had earlier said that some of the comments were “deeply offensive“, adding that an on-screen warning had been issued for “very strong and discriminatory language“. The recording will not be available on BBC iPlayer.
Keir Starmer also criticised the band “Kneecap“, saying before the festival that their appearance was “inappropriate“. The Irish rap group had made headlines before the festival by describing Israel's military action in Gaza as genocide.
“There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech,” he said the British Prime Minister.
Emily Eavis, the festival's organizer, said that “Bob Whelan“ had “crossed the line“.
“While as a festival we oppose all forms of war and terrorism, we will always believe in hope, unity, peace and love and will actively fight for them. A performer's comments should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs“, added Emily Eavis.