The BBC instructed a number of its senior staff to “step back” from their duties on music and live events, following the broadcast of Bob Vylan's “Death to the IDF” chant in Glastonbury, the BBC confirmed on Thursday.
The act was one of seven rated “high risk” by the BBC in advance of the show.
During the punk duo’s performance, they led chants of "death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]" and made other derogatory comments during their performance, which was made viewable on BBC iPlayer.
The BBC claimed in a statement that there was "no place for antisemitism" in its organization and that it was taking action to "ensure proper accountability for those found to be responsible" for the broadcast.
An apology to the BBC's Jewish staff
In a message to staff on Thursday, director general Tim Davie said: "I deeply regret that such offensive and deplorable behavior appeared on the BBC and want to say sorry – to our audience and to all of you, but in particular to Jewish colleagues and the Jewish community.
"Prior to Glastonbury, a decision was taken that compliance risks could be mitigated in real-time on the live stream – through the use of language or content warnings, without the need for a delay. This was clearly not the case,” the statement added.
Despite the forewarning, the footage was viewable for four hours.
"Given the failings that have been acknowledged, we are taking actions to ensure proper accountability for those found to be responsible for those failings in the live broadcast," the BBC said. "We will not comment further on those processes at this time."