Britain probes Bob Vylan, Kneecap's Glastonbury gigs after 'death to IDF' chant

(Corrects placement of quotation mark in headline)

By Sachin Ravikumar and Muvija M

LONDON (Reuters) -British police on Monday launched a criminal investigation into musical duo Bob Vylan and Irish rap band Kneecap's gigs at the Glastonbury music festival after they led chanting against the Israeli military and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The police are investigating "comments made on stage" by both groups for possible public order offences after reviewing video footage and audio from their performances, the Avon and Somerset regional police force said.

Vylan's set included on-stage chants of "death, death to the IDF", a reference to the Israel Defense Forces fighting a war in Gaza, while Kneecap led chants against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and condemned Israel in front of a huge crowd.

"This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our enquiries are at an early stage," the police statement said. "The investigation will be evidence-led and will closely consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes."

Earlier, the BBC said it regretted not stopping the livestream of Bob Vylan's set at Glastonbury, southwest England, after a member of the punk-rap duo led what the broadcaster called antisemitic chants against Israel's military.

Saturday's set also included on-stage chants of "From the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be, inshallah, it will be free".

That chant is a hotly disputed phrase often taken as a call for Israel's destruction and a denial of its right to exist, although many Palestinians dispute that.

The national broadcaster's decision to keep the set streaming live was condemned by Starmer, and media regulator Ofcom said the BBC had questions to answer.

The BBC, which broadcasts the annual festival, issued a warning on screen for strong and discriminatory language while the set was being streamed online, but said on Monday it should have gone further.

The Israeli Embassy in London also condemned the incident, while Starmer demanded answers from the BBC on "how these scenes came to be broadcast."

'I SAID WHAT I SAID'

The rap duo's lead vocalist, who also goes by the stage name Bobby Vylan, wrote on Instagram: "I said what I said," adding he had been "inundated with messages of both support and hatred".

"Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place," he said in the post, apparently in reference to the incident.

Bob Vylan, known for their mix of grime and punk rock, have been outspoken about their support for Palestinians in the past. Their songs tackle a range of issues including racism, homophobia and the class divide.

Political statements by musicians on stage have been in focus since a member of Kneecap was charged last month with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Britain. He denies the offence.

Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others as hostages into Gaza.

Israel launched a military campaign that has since killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, Sarah Young and Andrew MacAskill; editing by William James, Andrew Heavens and Mark Heinrich)