Following Bob Vylan’s disgusting performance at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday he has been dropped by his agents the United Talent Agency (UTA) following high-level talks.
The UTA has declined to provide any comment and Vylan’s band page now no longer appears on the agencies website.
On Saturday Vylan chanted “free, free Palestine” and “death to the IDF” the Israeli Defence Forces which was broadcast live on the BBC.
Avon and Somerset Police have been warned that should they fail to arrest Bob Vylan over his “deeply offensive” and “appalling hate speech” at Glastonbury Festival would be an “example of two-tier justice.”
Vylan’s “offensive” performance has drawn comparisons to that of the Lucy Connolly case as she was sent to prison for 31 months last year over a simple social media post which was branded racist.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “It seems very clear that this man was directly inciting violence. He should receive the same treatment under the law as others, such as Lucy Connolly.
“He should be arrested and prosecuted immediately. A failure to do so would be a clear example of two-tier justice under Sir Keir Starmer and his attorney general, Lord Hermer.”
Connolly wrote on social media after the Southport attack which three young girls were stabbed to death by Axel Rudakubana, “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f—— hotels full of the b——- for all I care, while you’re at it take the treacherous government politicians with them.
Ofcom has waded in after receiving complaints over the BBC’s coverage stating the broadcast “clearly has questions to answer.
Ofcom added, “We have been speaking to the BBC over the weekend and we are obtaining further information as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines.”
In a statement posted to Instagram, Vylan said, “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.
“As we grow older and our fire starts to possibly dim under the suffocation of adult life and all its responsibilities, it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.”
The BBC said in a statement, “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. The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence.
“The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. We welcome Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance.
“The performance was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on BBC iPlayer.
“The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines.
“In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. 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.”
