00:00I'm in touch with my right honourable friend, the Home Secretary, as to whether there has been any criminal offence committed.
00:05The House will know that decisions relating to specific cases are an operational matter for the police.
00:12Avon and Somerset Police have confirmed that video evidence is being assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed.
00:20They have just announced in the last few minutes that this has now taken the form of a criminal investigation.
00:27So, as I hope members will appreciate, it therefore would not be appropriate for the government to comment on an ongoing investigation at this stage.
00:35But let me be clear that this government will not tolerate anti-Semitism.
00:41It has no place in our society. It is a poison and a cancer that must be rooted out.
00:48And we will be relentless in our work to do so.
00:51This government works closely with the police and with community partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities.
00:59And we will continue to do so following the enormous impact that these events have had on them over the weekend.
01:07Let me turn now to the role of the BBC.
01:10On Saturday afternoon, just after the broadcast, I called the Director-General to ask for an explanation and what immediate steps the BBC leadership intended to take.
01:22As the Prime Minister said yesterday, it is essential that the BBC explains how these scenes came to be broadcast.
01:31The BBC has rightly apologised and took the immediate decision not to put this content on iPlayer.
01:37I welcome that.
01:38However, key outstanding questions remain, including why this performance was broadcast live, given the concerns regarding other acts in the weeks preceding the festival.
01:52Why the feed wasn't immediately cut when the chance of death to the IDF began.
01:58And what due diligence was done prior to the decision to broadcast this particular act to the nation.
02:04I expect answers to these questions without delay.
02:08I have made that view clear to the BBC leadership and I will, of course, update the House as soon as I can.
02:16Over the weekend and this morning, I have also had conversations with members of the Jewish community, including those who were present at Glastonbury.
02:24They have raised a number of concerns about imagery and slogans that were on display at the festival this weekend.
02:33And I am told that this led them to establish their own safe space at the festival.
02:39As a government, we are urgently looking into the specifics of these alarming reports and reaching out to the festival organisers.
02:51Finally, I want to be clear about the government's role.
02:56As a government, we strongly support freedom of expression.
02:59And as Culture Secretary, I will robustly defend the independence of our broadcasters and the right to artistic expression.
03:06But we do not accept that incitement to violence, hate speech or anti-Semitism is art.
03:14There is a clear difference between speaking out for Palestine, which is the right of everybody in this House and everybody in our country,
03:24and anti-Semitism, which is not and which will never be.
03:27When the rights and safety of people and communities are at risk, and when our national broadcaster fails to uphold its own standards, we will intervene.
03:39In the coming days, I will be having further conversations with the BBC and festival organisers to ensure that lessons are learnt and action is taken.
03:49And I commend this statement to the House.
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