Wes Streeting has hit out at “appalling” and “revolting” chants of “death to the IDF” at Glastonbury and said that the BBC and festival both have questions to answer.
The health secretary also told the Israeli government to get its “own house in order” and take violence against Palestinians more seriously.
Police are assessing videos of sets by Bob Vylan, who led crowds in chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF”, and Irish rap trio Kneecap, who suggested fans “start a riot” outside one of the band’s upcoming court appearance.
Mr Streeting told Sky News the scenes were “appalling” and “I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens.”
“But I also think it’s a pretty shameless publicity stunt, which I don’t really want to give too much indulgence to for that reason.”
On social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes “grotesque”, writing on X: “Glorifying violence against Jews isn’t edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked.”
Asked about the Israel embassy’s response to chants at Glastonbury, Mr Streeting added that he would “say to the Israeli embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank.
“I think there’s a serious point there by the Israeli embassy I take seriously. I wish they’d take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously.”
He said what people should be talking about in the context of Israel and Gaza is the humanitarian catastrophe and the fact that Israeli settlers attacked a Christian village this week.
He added: “All life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we’ve got to a stage in this conflict where you’re supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it’s a football team.”
The culture secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan’s performance.
A BBC spokesperson 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.”
Kneecap, from Belfast, hit the headlines in recent weeks after Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence.
Discussing his bandmate’s forthcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine”.
In the run-up to the festival, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up, including Sir Keir Starmer who said their performance would not be “appropriate”.
During the performance, Caireallain said: “The prime minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.”
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