OPINION

       Bob Vylan perform at Glastonbury, where they led a chant of 'death to the IDF' (Image: Getty)

       I have always been a strong advocate for the BBC. It is a cornerstone of British public life with a proud history of cultural contribution. But the broadcast of certain performances at the Glastonbury Festival at the weekend make that advocacy increasingly difficult. The BBC’s repeated failure to address antisemitism and bias in its content, while broadcasting the violent and racist rhetoric seen on stage at the festival is undermining the BBC’s purpose and mission, and our social cohesion.

       Far from being isolated incidents, these misjudgments reflect a deeper institutional malaise that calls into question whether our national broadcaster is still fulfilling its public duty: “to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain”.

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       POLL: Should UK taxpayers stop funding Glastonbury through the BBC?

       280 Comments

       Glastonbury and BBC should hang their heads in shame at Bob Vylan 'death to IDF' outrage

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       'I saw Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performance - it was a cesspit of hate'

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       Bob Vylan breaks silence after Glastonbury set removed from BBC iPlayer

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       Piers Morgan accuses BBC of having 'outrageous double standards' with Glastonbury

       101 Comments

       Furious Tory calls for BBC licence fee to be axed after Glastonbury Bob Vylan row

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       BBC boss Tim Davie faces calls to quit over Glastonbury antisemitic chant coverage

       88 Comments

       POLL: Should rapper Bob Vylan be jailed for chanting ‘death to the IDF' at Glastonbury?

       453 Comments

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       'BBC must explain!' Damning questions over Glastonbury hate broadcast

       143 Comments

       POLL: Should BBC licence fee be axed after Glastonbury Bob Vylan row?

       135 Comments

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       POLL: Should UK taxpayers stop funding Glastonbury through the BBC?

       280 Comments

       Glastonbury and BBC should hang their heads in shame at Bob Vylan 'death to IDF' outrage

       561 Comments

       Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       BBC admits it should have pulled Bob Vylan feed after vile 'antisemitic chants'

       349 Comments

       BBC issued stern warning from Ofcom in brutal Glastonbury hate speech response

       12 Comments

       Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       GMB star sparks outrage as she backs BBC over Glastonbury hate speech shame

       229 Comments

       Furious Express readers call for taxpayers to stop Glastonbury funding through BBC

       27 Comments

       Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       BBC viewers 'switch off' and issue same complaint amid calls to 'cancel' Glastonbury

       3 Comments

       Gary Lineker blasts BBC for 'losing their way' as axed host points out 'massive problem'

       11 Comments

       Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

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       'I saw Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performance - it was a cesspit of hate'

       21 Comments

       Bob Vylan breaks silence after Glastonbury set removed from BBC iPlayer

       73 Comments

       Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       Palestine Action ban can't come soon enough - they're a threat to innocent Gazans

       50 Comments

       Rod Stewart's Glastonbury performance mocked during controversial set

       18 Comments

       Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       Glastonbury Festival police statement after 'death chants' broadcast by BBC

       129 Comments

       Glastonbury crowds chant foul-mouthed anti-Keir Starmer chant during rowdy set

       287 Comments

       Piers Morgan accuses BBC of having 'outrageous double standards' with Glastonbury

       101 Comments

       Furious Tory calls for BBC licence fee to be axed after Glastonbury Bob Vylan row

       68 Comments

       BBC boss Tim Davie faces calls to quit over Glastonbury antisemitic chant coverage

       88 Comments

       POLL: Should rapper Bob Vylan be jailed for chanting ‘death to the IDF' at Glastonbury?

       453 Comments

       'BBC must explain!' Damning questions over Glastonbury hate broadcast

       143 Comments

       POLL: Should BBC licence fee be axed after Glastonbury Bob Vylan row?

       135 Comments

       POLL: Should UK taxpayers stop funding Glastonbury through the BBC?

       280 Comments

       Glastonbury and BBC should hang their heads in shame at Bob Vylan 'death to IDF' outrage

       561 Comments

       BBC admits it should have pulled Bob Vylan feed after vile 'antisemitic chants'

       349 Comments

       BBC issued stern warning from Ofcom in brutal Glastonbury hate speech response

       12 Comments

       GMB star sparks outrage as she backs BBC over Glastonbury hate speech shame

       229 Comments

       Furious Express readers call for taxpayers to stop Glastonbury funding through BBC

       27 Comments

       BBC viewers 'switch off' and issue same complaint amid calls to 'cancel' Glastonbury

       3 Comments

       READ MORE: Bob Vylan's visa revoked after Glastonbury 'death to the IDF' chant

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       This is a broadcaster that has, time and again, given airtime to representatives of Hamas while refusing to clearly identify the group as what it is: a terrorist organisation. It has repeatedly failed to call out antisemitic rhetoric when it emerges under the guise of political commentary and has faced serious allegations of minimising attacks on Jewish communities. These are not marginal errors. They point to a longstanding pattern of moral equivocation and editorial cowardice.

       This pattern has now taken an even darker turn.

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       The BBC’s decision to stream material from Kneecap, a group whose members have openly called for Members of Parliament to be killed, is as indefensible as it is shocking. We have already seen the devastating consequences of political violence in this country, with the murders of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess while serving their constituents. For the BBC to amplify voices advocating similar violence is grossly irresponsible.

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       Even more troubling is that a leading member of the group is currently facing a terrorism charge. That fact alone should have prompted an immediate editorial intervention. Instead, the BBC gave this group a platform on a publicly funded service, reinforcing the view that sensationalism now trumps basic editorial and ethical standards at the BBC.

       The broadcast of little known punk ban Bob Vylan seems to be at the very least a clear breach of the mission to provide high quality output. The repeated chants to kill could hardly be considered impartial or educational, and such calls for violence have been prosecuted in the past. Last year, a woman was imprisoned for saying on social media that she wouldn’t care if rioters burned down an asylum hotel. This was taken to be incitement to racial hatred and violence. Our standards have become perverse and inconsistent when a mother is sent to prison for a hastily deleted X post, while band calling for mass killing are given prime time on the BBC.

       The BBC also pays for the exclusive rights to broadcast Glastonbury and is said to send around 500 staff to cover the event. Licence fee payers are paying more money to millionaire socialist owners of Glastonbury, when there are plenty of other commercial broadcasters who would gladly carry the festival at no cost to the taxpayer.

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       The BBC’s failures on antisemitism are not new. Time and again, it has given exposure to voices whose language around Israel and Jewish people slips into outright bigotry. It has misrepresented attacks on Jewish communities and ignored concerns raised by leading Jewish organisations.

       A national broadcaster, funded by the licence payer, should stand for impartiality, responsibility, and social cohesion. In this case, there has been absolutely no accountability. The BBC’s recent decisions betray those principles entirely. Airing Vylan’s hateful rhetoric wasn’t just a lapse in editorial judgment, it was a disgraceful affront to the Jewish community and a violation of the BBC’s own public charter.

       This cannot be swept away with vague reassurances and internal reviews.

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       Powered by

       POLL: Should UK taxpayers stop funding Glastonbury through the BBC?

       280 Comments

       Glastonbury and BBC should hang their heads in shame at Bob Vylan 'death to IDF' outrage

       561 Comments

       BBC admits it should have pulled Bob Vylan feed after vile 'antisemitic chants'

       349 Comments

       BBC issued stern warning from Ofcom in brutal Glastonbury hate speech response

       12 Comments

       GMB star sparks outrage as she backs BBC over Glastonbury hate speech shame

       229 Comments

       Furious Express readers call for taxpayers to stop Glastonbury funding through BBC

       27 Comments

       BBC viewers 'switch off' and issue same complaint amid calls to 'cancel' Glastonbury

       3 Comments

       Gary Lineker blasts BBC for 'losing their way' as axed host points out 'massive problem'

       11 Comments

       'I saw Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performance - it was a cesspit of hate'

       21 Comments

       Bob Vylan breaks silence after Glastonbury set removed from BBC iPlayer

       73 Comments

       Palestine Action ban can't come soon enough - they're a threat to innocent Gazans

       50 Comments

       Rod Stewart's Glastonbury performance mocked during controversial set

       18 Comments

       Glastonbury Festival police statement after 'death chants' broadcast by BBC

       129 Comments

       Glastonbury crowds chant foul-mouthed anti-Keir Starmer chant during rowdy set

       287 Comments

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       Undo

       Piers Morgan accuses BBC of having 'outrageous double standards' with Glastonbury

       101 Comments

       Furious Tory calls for BBC licence fee to be axed after Glastonbury Bob Vylan row

       68 Comments

       This New AC Cooler Cools the Room In SecondsPubyfun | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       BBC boss Tim Davie faces calls to quit over Glastonbury antisemitic chant coverage

       88 Comments

       POLL: Should rapper Bob Vylan be jailed for chanting ‘death to the IDF' at Glastonbury?

       453 Comments

       Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       'BBC must explain!' Damning questions over Glastonbury hate broadcast

       143 Comments

       POLL: Should BBC licence fee be axed after Glastonbury Bob Vylan row?

       135 Comments

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       Learn More

       Undo

       POLL: Should UK taxpayers stop funding Glastonbury through the BBC?

       280 Comments

       Glastonbury and BBC should hang their heads in shame at Bob Vylan 'death to IDF' outrage

       561 Comments

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       Undo

       BBC admits it should have pulled Bob Vylan feed after vile 'antisemitic chants'

       349 Comments

       BBC issued stern warning from Ofcom in brutal Glastonbury hate speech response

       12 Comments

       This New AC Cooler Cools the Room In SecondsPubyfun | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       GMB star sparks outrage as she backs BBC over Glastonbury hate speech shame

       229 Comments

       Furious Express readers call for taxpayers to stop Glastonbury funding through BBC

       27 Comments

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       Undo

       BBC viewers 'switch off' and issue same complaint amid calls to 'cancel' Glastonbury

       3 Comments

       Gary Lineker blasts BBC for 'losing their way' as axed host points out 'massive problem'

       11 Comments

       Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       'I saw Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performance - it was a cesspit of hate'

       21 Comments

       Bob Vylan breaks silence after Glastonbury set removed from BBC iPlayer

       73 Comments

       Medical Mystery Solved: Dementia and Memory Loss Has Been Linked To This...Memory Health | Sponsored Sponsored

       Learn More

       Undo

       Palestine Action ban can't come soon enough - they're a threat to innocent Gazans

       50 Comments

       Rod Stewart's Glastonbury performance mocked during controversial set

       18 Comments

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       Undo

       Glastonbury Festival police statement after 'death chants' broadcast by BBC

       129 Comments

       Glastonbury crowds chant foul-mouthed anti-Keir Starmer chant during rowdy set

       287 Comments

       Piers Morgan accuses BBC of having 'outrageous double standards' with Glastonbury

       101 Comments

       Furious Tory calls for BBC licence fee to be axed after Glastonbury Bob Vylan row

       68 Comments

       BBC boss Tim Davie faces calls to quit over Glastonbury antisemitic chant coverage

       88 Comments

       POLL: Should rapper Bob Vylan be jailed for chanting ‘death to the IDF' at Glastonbury?

       453 Comments

       'BBC must explain!' Damning questions over Glastonbury hate broadcast

       143 Comments

       POLL: Should BBC licence fee be axed after Glastonbury Bob Vylan row?

       135 Comments

       POLL: Should UK taxpayers stop funding Glastonbury through the BBC?

       280 Comments

       Glastonbury and BBC should hang their heads in shame at Bob Vylan 'death to IDF' outrage

       561 Comments

       BBC admits it should have pulled Bob Vylan feed after vile 'antisemitic chants'

       349 Comments

       BBC issued stern warning from Ofcom in brutal Glastonbury hate speech response

       12 Comments

       GMB star sparks outrage as she backs BBC over Glastonbury hate speech shame

       229 Comments

       Furious Express readers call for taxpayers to stop Glastonbury funding through BBC

       27 Comments

       BBC viewers 'switch off' and issue same complaint amid calls to 'cancel' Glastonbury

       3 Comments

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       Earlier this year, our leader Kemi Badenoch wrote to the Tim Davie, the Director-General of the BBC demanding an investigation into any potential collusion with Hamas. We have long called for any institutional bias against Israel to be rooted out.

       The Prime Minister and Culture Secretary must urgently consider whether the BBC still meets the standards of a public institution, or whether it has allowed radical ideology to undermine its core purpose.

       The BBC must take a long, hard look at itself. Not just in light of this incident, but in view of a broader, persistent culture that has shown a worrying tolerance of antisemitism and hate speech.