Police launch criminal investigation into Kneecap's Glastonbury performance
Police in the UK have formally opened a criminal investigation into comments made by groups Bob Vylan and Kneecap at Glastonbury after reviewing video and audio footage of their performances at the festival.Avon and Somerset said it had recorded the performances as a “public order incident at this time”. The force said that while enquiries are at an early stage, the investigation will “consider all appropriate legislation, including relating to hate crimes”.Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival (Ben Birchall/PA)At the festival, Pascal Robinson-Foster of Bob Vylan led chants of “death to the IDF” [Israel Defence Forces] during the punk rap duo's show on the West Holts stage on Saturday.Kneecap followed Bob Vylan with a performance that included leading the crowd in chants of “fuck Keir Starmer”.During the performance, member Naoise Ó Cairealláin, who performs under the name Móglaí Bap, told the crowd: "There's no f**king hiding it, Israel are war criminals."In the days and weeks leading up to the festival at Worthy Farm, several UK politicians called for Kneecap to be removed from the Glastonbury line-up, while British prime minister Keir Starmer stated that Kneecap's performance would not be “appropriate”.During their show on Saturday, member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh told the crowd: “The prime minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.”"We have received a large amount of contact in relation to these events from people across the world and recognise the strength of public feeling," Avon and Somerset police said in a statement on Monday."There is absolutely no place in society for hate."A senior detective has been appointed to lead the investigation.In issuing a statement on the matter, the force said was seeking to reassure the public on "how seriously we are treating Saturday’s events"."We politely ask the public refrain from continuing to report this matter to us because an investigation is already taking place," the force added.Earlier, it was confirmed that Bob Vylan had been banned from the US ahead of a tour later this year because of what US deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau described as “their hateful tirade" at Glastonbury.The BBC has since expressed its regret at not pulling a live stream of the duo’s performance, saying the “antisemitic sentiments” expressed by the group were “utterly unacceptable”.Bob Vylan played at Coachella in Calfornia earlier this year but will be unable to return to the US when they were set to perform in Chicago, Brooklyn and Philadelphia in the autumn.The duo, formed in Ipswich in 2017, have released four albums addressing issues to do with racism, masculinity and class.
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