BBC have said that they will scrap ‘high risk’ performances after Bob Vylan Glastonbury backlash.
The BBC said “We deeply regret that such offensive and deplorable behaviour appeared on the BBC”.
The duo have been criticised by Israel supporters for leading the crowd in a chant of “death to the IDF [Israel‘s Defence Forces]” while performing on the festival’s West Holts stage last week.
They also chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
The BBC has since admitted the performance was considered high risk before broadcast but was ultimately “deemed suitable for live streaming with appropriate mitigations”.
In a statement, the corporation said that this was “clearly not the case”.
The BBC said: “We fully understand the strength of feeling regarding Bob Vylan’s live appearance at Glastonbury on the BBC.
“We deeply regret that such offensive and deplorable behaviour appeared on the BBC and want to apologise to our viewers and listeners and in particular the Jewish community. We are also unequivocal that there can be no place for antisemitism at, or on, the BBC.
“Bob Vylan were deemed high risk following a risk assessment process applied to all acts appearing at Glastonbury. Seven acts including Bob Vylan were included in this category and they were all deemed suitable for live streaming with appropriate mitigations.
“Prior to Glastonbury, a decision was taken that compliance risks could be mitigated in real time on the live stream – through the use of language or content warnings – without the need for a delay. This was clearly not the case.
“During the performance, the live stream was monitored in line with the agreed compliance protocols and a number of issues were escalated. Warnings appeared on the stream on two occasions and the editorial team took the decision not to cut the feed. This was an error.”
The statement continued: “The Director-General was subsequently made aware of what had happened and instructed the team that none of the performance should feature in further coverage.
“The team prioritised stopping the performance from featuring on demand. This meant that no downloads of Bob Vylan’s set were available on iPlayer or Sounds. However, the live feed, which was showing subsequent performances from other acts on the same Glastonbury stage, remained up until it was amended shortly after 8pm while teams worked on a technical solution.
