Police open inquiry into rap duo and Kneecap

Police formally opened a criminal investigation yesterday into comments made by Bob Vylan and Kneecap at Glastonbury after reviewing video and audio footage of the performances.

- Michael Savage Jamie Grierson

Avon and Somerset police said the performances had been recorded as a "public order incident at this time" and the investigation would "consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes". A spokesperson added: "There is absolutely no place in society for hate."

Pascal Robinson-Foster, of the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, led chants of "Death, death to the IDF", referring to the Israel Defense Forces, and spoke of working for a "fucking Zionist" during their show on the West Holts stage on Saturday.

The Irish rap trio Kneecap followed the group with a performance that included leading the crowd in chants of "Fuck Keir Starmer".

Earlier yesterday the BBC said it regretted not cutting the livestream of Bob Vylan's performance, claiming it contained "utterly unacceptable antisemitic sentiments", while the US announced it was revoking visas for the band. The BBC initially said that some of the comments were "deeply offensive". It said a warning was issued on screen about the "very strong and discriminatory language" at the time. However, the BBC went further yesterday, saying it should not have allowed the comments to be broadcast and would look to update its guidance on live events.

"Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC's output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive," it said.