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'A clear example of political censorship'

BBC accused of silencing acts at Glastonbury for standing in solidarity with Palestine

Kneecap performing on the West Holts Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, June 28, 2025

THE BBC was accused today of silencing acts at Glastonbury festival for standing in solidarity with Palestine by refusing to broadcast their sets.

Irish-language rap trio Kneecap’s set was not live streamed after rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig last year, the broadcaster announced.

Punk duo Bob Vylan will also be silenced after leading chants of “Death, death to the IDF” during their set, which the BBC said will not be made available iPlayer.

Kneecap’s barnstorming set on Saturday saw the band leading “Fuck Keir Starmer” chants in response to the Prime Minister telling the right-wing Sun newspaper that the band’s appearance at the festival was “not appropriate.”

Thousands of fans shouted “Free, free Palestine” across the West Holts stage amid a sea of Palestinian flags.

The group also paid tribute to Palestine Action amid plans by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation.

The announcement followed Palestine Action protesters spraying two RAF war planes with red paint at Brize Norton last week.

Masked member DJ Provai displayed a “We are all Palestine Action” T-shirt during their set.

“Palestine Action is not arming the genocide and Israel — that’s Keir Starmer and the British government, who should be proscribed,” rapper Liam O’Hanna told the crowds before leading another volley of “Fuck Keir Starmer” chants.

A flashmob also took place at the festival with 200 protesters wearing “We are all Palestine Action” T-shirts and waving Palestinian flags.

A Palestine Action spokesperson said: “Kneecap, along with many artists and celebrities and Parliamentarians of different stripes, have joined thousands of people across the country saying ‘We are all Palestine Action,’ showing how unworkable the government’s threat to ban Palestine Action is.

“How can they seriously propose to prosecute MPs, Lords, and celebrities like Sally Rooney for supporting acts of protest against genocide?

“Even civil servants in the Home Office are speaking out about how absurd the proposal is and how impossible it will be to enforce.

“The government made a huge mistake by trying to paint Kneecap and Palestine Action as ‘terrorists.’

“Everyone can see it’s preposterous and that the government is pandering to the Israeli embassy, pro-Israel groups and arms companies pressuring Starmer’s government to crack down on everyone who stands up to Israel’s genocide and the UK government’s complicity.

“Spraying red paint on war planes is not terrorism — it’s the war planes enabling Israel’s war crimes which are inflicting terror.

“Documents revealed under freedom of information laws show that the government was being lobbied to ban Palestine Action long before the action at Brize Norton last week because we are so effective at disrupting Israel’s war machine.”

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) director Ben Jamal told the Star that the broadcast ban is the “latest instance of the BBC’s disgraceful silencing of those standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

He called it “a clear example of political censorship, by succumbing to pressure from those who wish to shield Israel from accountability for it’s unconscionable violence against Palestinians.”

A Momentum spokeswoman said: “The BBC’s refusal to broadcast Kneecap’s set is a breach of basic principles of free speech.

“Instead of censoring musicians, the BBC should focus on holding those arming Israel’s genocide of the people of Gaza to account.”

On Kneecap, the BBC said: “We have made an on-demand version of Kneecap’s performance available on iPlayer, as part of our online collection of more than 90 other sets.

“We have edited it to ensure the content falls within the limits of artistic expression in line with our editorial guidelines and reflects the performance from Glastonbury’s West Holts stage.

“As with all content which includes strong language, this is signposted with appropriate warnings.”

On Bob Vylan, the broadcaster said: “Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive.

“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language.

“We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”

A joint Instagram post from Glastonbury and festival co-organiser Emily Eavis said: “As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism.

“We will always believe in — and actively campaign for — hope, unity, peace and love.

“However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan today.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”

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