British police said Tuesday they will take no further action over chants calling for “death to the IDF” made during a live performance by the punk duo Bob Vylan at the Glastonbury music festival, despite widespread condemnation in Britain and Israel.
Avon and Somerset Police said the comments did not meet the legal threshold required for prosecution under Crown Prosecution Service guidelines.
“We have concluded, after reviewing all the evidence, that it does not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the CPS for any person to be prosecuted,” the force said in a statement.
During the June performance, lead singer Bobby Vylan repeatedly led chants of “death, death to the IDF,” a call for violence against Israel’s military as it was engaged in fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza following the October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
Police said there was insufficient evidence to support a realistic prospect of conviction. As part of the investigation, officers interviewed a man in his mid-30s and contacted around 200 members of the public.
The force said it examined the intent behind the remarks, their broader context, relevant case law and freedom of expression considerations before deciding to close the case.
“We believe it is right this matter was comprehensively investigated, every potential criminal offence was thoroughly considered, and we sought all the advice we could to ensure we made an informed decision,” police said.
At the same time, the statement acknowledged the harm caused by the remarks. “The comments made on Saturday 28 June drew widespread anger, proving that words have real-world consequences,” it said, adding that police engaged with Jewish community groups throughout the investigation.
The chants sparked sharp criticism from Israeli officials, Jewish organizations and British leaders, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Israeli Embassy in London said the slogans amounted to incitement and warned of the normalization of extremist rhetoric and the glorification of violence.
The BBC also faced intense backlash for failing to halt its live broadcast of the performance. The publicly funded broadcaster later described the chants as “deeply offensive,” apologized for not cutting the feed and said the set would not be made available on demand.
The incident occurred at the Glastonbury Festival in late June, where Palestinian flags were waved on stage and Bob Vylan’s performance was broadcast live by the BBC. The duo appeared shortly before the Irish group Kneecap, which has also drawn controversy for aggressive anti-Israel messaging. Glastonbury organizers later said the chants crossed a line, stressing that performers’ views should not be seen as endorsed by the festival.
The controversy has fueled a broader debate in Britain over the boundary between artistic expression and incitement, particularly amid rising antisemitism following the war between Israel and Hamas. Jewish groups have warned that calls for violence against Israelis or the IDF contribute to a hostile climate for Jews in the UK, regardless of whether they meet criminal standards.