UK police drop probe into Bob Vylan comments about Israeli military

LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) – British police said on Tuesday they would take no further action over comments made about the Israeli military during a performance by punk duo Bob Vylan at the Glastonbury music festival in June.

“We have concluded, after reviewing all the evidence, that it does not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) for any person to be prosecuted,” Avon and Somerset Police said.

The performance by Bob Vylan included on-stage chants by lead singer Bobby Vylan of “death, death to the IDF”, a reference to the Israel Defense Forces which was heavily involved in fighting in Gaza.

There was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, the police said.

The force said it interviewed a man in his mid-30s and contacted about 200 members of the public during the investigation.

The on-stage comments drew widespread criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Israeli Embassy in London. The BBC, Britain’s publicly owned broadcaster, also faced backlash for not halting a livestream of the performance.

In its statement on Tuesday, Avon and Somerset Police said it considered the intent behind the words, the wider context, case law and freedom of speech issues before concluding the investigation.

“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,” it said.

“The comments made on Saturday 28 June drew widespread anger, proving that words have real-world consequences,” the statement said, adding the force had engaged with Jewish community groups throughout the process.

(Reporting by Sam TabahritiEditing by William Schomberg)