Punk rap duo Bob Vylan have been branded "contemptible" by broadcaster Jake Wallis Simons after claiming they are being "targeted" for their performance at Glastonbury Festival.
Following a probe by Avon and Somerset Police, the band shared a statement on social media, claiming they are being singled out for "speaking up".
The statement read: "We are being targeted for speaking up. We are not the first. We will not be the last. And if you care for the sanctity of human life and freedom of speech, we urge you to speak up, too. FREE PALESTINE."
Reacting to the statement on GB News, Wallis Simons told the People's Channel that the move is both "predictable" and "contemptible".
Bob Vylan have been branded 'predictable' by Jake Wallis Simons after claiming they have been targeted for their Glastonbury controversy
PA / GB News
Wallis Simons said: "It's just contemptible and it's predictable. What did he expect? The whole reason behind his performance, not just this one where he shouted death to the IDF, but his music in general.
"If you listen to it, it's producing the most insulting, provocative terminology and statements and rhetoric and throwing it in the face of the public to get a reaction, to get a rise."
He fumed: "That's what he's trying to do, and now he's got this big reaction, he's become notorious. Everyone knows who the guy is.
"I frankly wish I never knew who Bob Vylan was. I'd quite happily go through the rest of my life without ever learning his name."
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Bob Vylan led chants of 'Death to the IDF' at Glastonbury on Saturday
GETTYCriticising the decision of Glastonbury to host Bob Vylan at the festival, Wallis Simons said the duo should "not have been on stage in the first place".
Wallis Simons stated: "He's now got this notoriety, and he's seeking to magnify this notoriety by pretending he's being targeted and 'I'm the victim' to get more points.
"So far as I'm concerned, I think he's absolutely contemptible and shouldn't have been on stage in the first place."
Noting the increased political nature of the festival, Wallis Simons said the event is increasingly being attended and pushed by the "progressive left" who have lost their "moral compass".
Wallis Simons told GB News that there is 'no other word for it than contemptible'
GB News
Wallis Simons concluded: "The fact that he was performing at Glastonbury says a lot about the Glastonbury organisers, about the people who go to Glastonbury, and that the entire progressive left, all of whom lost their moral compass a long time ago, particularly when it comes to Israel and Jews.
"But also when it comes to Britishness. Don't forget they often attack Jews and Israel, but as a proxy for attacking our British way of life and our values, it's absolutely contemptible, there isn't any other word for it."
In a statement, Culture and Media Secretary Lisa Nandy has said the BBC "failed to uphold its own standards", and has asked "essential questions" of Director General Tim Davie.
The BBC also condemned the performance, stating: "The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves."
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