Lisa Nandy ‘not satisfied’ with BBC response on Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said she is “not satisfied” with the response she’s had from the BBC about the live streaming of Bob Vylan’s controversial Glastonbury set.

She also told the House of Commons on Thursday that she “would expect there to be accountability at the highest levels” of the corporation.

Punk duo Bob Vylan led a chant of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]” during their set, which was available to watch via a live stream on iPlayer. The BBC has said the comments were “utterly unacceptable” and it should have pulled the feed sooner.

Bob Vylan said on Tuesday they had been “targeted for speaking up”, reiterating that they were advocating “for the dismantling of a violent military machine”.

The group have since had several bookings cancelled, including festival appearances in Manchester and France and a slot in Germany.

Avon and Somerset Police have launched a criminal investigation into their Glastonbury comments. On Wednesday, London’s Metropolitan Police said the band are also under investigation for comments they allegedly made during a concert at Alexandra Palace a month earlier.

Following the Glastonbury live stream, which was available to watch on iPlayer for more than four hours after the comments were made, the BBC was criticised by the UK’s chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, while broadcast regulator Ofcom said the BBC had “questions to answer”.

In an email to the BBC’s Jewish staff network on Tuesday, the corporation’s director general Tim Davie said: “I was, and remain, appalled by Bob Vylan’s deeply offensive and totally unacceptable behaviour during his Glastonbury set.”

He added that the performance had “no place on the BBC” and “there is absolutely no place for antisemitism at the BBC”.

On Thursday, Nandy told the House of Commons: “I have received a reply to the very many questions that were raised by colleagues on all sides [of the House]. I’m not satisfied with that and I’ve gone back to the BBC leadership for ask for further information.”

She said she was particularly concerned “about the failure to pull the live feed, the due diligence that was done prior to deciding to screen this act, and also the level of senior oversight that took place in the BBC during the Glastonbury weekend”.

She added: “I think the BBC leadership will hear and have heard the strength of feeling in this House about this and I expect further answers to be forthcoming imminently.”

Nandy also acknowledged the response from Jewish people.

“Given the seriousness of what happened, and particularly we heard in the House the absolute shocking stories of the impact this has had on the Jewish community in this country – given the seriousness of this, I would expect there to be accountability at the highest levels.”

The culture secretary’s comments came days after she spoke about what she said were several recent editorial failures at the BBC.

The corporation is also due to publish a review into the documentary Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, which was pulled from iPlayer in February after it emerged it was narrated by the child of a Hamas minister.

“When you have one editorial failure, it’s something that must be gripped,” Nandy said on Monday. “When you have several, it becomes a problem of leadership.”

In a statement on Monday, the BBC said the “antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves”.

“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,” the BBC said.

In their statement, posted on Instagram on Tuesday, Bob Vylan said: “We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine”.

They added that “we, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story. We are a distraction from the story, and whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction”.