Lisa Nandy has told the Commons she is “not satisfied so far” at the explanation given to her by the BBC about the decision to continue to broadcast “Death To The IDF” remarks made by an artist on stage at the Glastonbury Festival.
In a statement to MPs the Culture Secretary criticised the “appalling and unacceptable” scenes at the Glastonbury festival, as the acts Bobby Vylan and Kneecap performed on Saturday.
Nandy confirmed that Avon and Somerset Police had announced a criminal investigation into footage and audio from Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s performances at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday
The Culture Secretary said the Government would not tolerate antisemitism, after the comments on stage by Bob Vylan. Ms Nandy said she had called BBC director general Tim Davie after the broadcast on Saturday to find out why it had aired, and why the feed had not been cut.
“I expect answers to these questions without delay. I have made that view clear to the BBC leadership and I will of course update the House as soon as I can,” she said.
Nandy said she had spoken to members of the Jewish community, including attendees at Glastonbury, who said they were concerned by imagery and slogans and ended up creating their own “safe space”.
She also said said “problems with broadcasts” at Glastonbury “should have been foreseeable” by looking at the history of statements made by the artist on platforms such as social media.
Responding to shadow Culture Secretary Stuart Andrew, Nandy said:“I would say that those of us who do believe in the importance of our national broadcaster are probably more angry than anybody about what has happened over the last few days. It’s precisely because we understand the importance of the BBC that we know that the BBC has to do better.
“He’s asked whether I’m satisfied with the explanation that I’ve had so far – I’m not.
“I’ve been very clear with the BBC leadership about that, and clear that I expect to get a full explanation immediately without delay.
“He asks about the possibility of an independent inquiry. I would just say to all members of this House that I’m not sure that you need an inquiry to establish that it should have been foreseeable that there would be problems with broadcasts this weekend, that the decision to broadcast live without any delay should have been reviewed, and that a live feed should have been pulled immediately when the chants ‘death, death to the IDF’ began.”
She added:”As a Government we take this incredibly seriously. We are urgently looking into the specifics of these alarming reports and reaching out to the festival organisers,” she told MPs.
She continued: “As a Government we strongly support freedom of expression and as Culture Secretary I will robustly defend the independence of our broadcasters, and the right to artistic expression. But we do not accept that incitement to violence, hate speech or antisemitism is art.
“There is a clear difference between speaking out for Palestine, which is the right of everybody in this House, and everybody in our country, and antisemitism which is not, and will never be.
“When the rights and safety of people and communities are at risk, and when our national broadcaster fails to uphold its own standards, we will intervene.”
Nandy told the Commons “several” editorial failures “becomes a problem of leadership”, as MPs pressed the Government to hold the BBC to account over its Glastonbury live stream.
This came in response to Labour MP Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket), who said: “The murder of hundreds of Jews at the Nova music festival in October 2023 sparked this war, the irony of broadcast antisemitism at Glastonbury here in the UK is not lost on any of us.
“So how are Jews, such as myself, in this country, to be reassured about the editorial processes of the BBC? And who on Earth will be held accountable for this error?”
Nandy replied: “He makes an extremely important point about accountability, and that is something that is not lost on me as the Secretary of State, and something that I’ve impressed upon the BBC leadership as well.
“When you have one editorial failure, it’s something that must be gripped. When you have several, it becomes a problem of leadership.”
