While Sir Rod Stewart’s performance in the Legends slot at Glastonbury features on many front pages, it is the previous night’s calls by the punk group Bob Vylan for “death to the IDF” that dominate the coverage.
The Sun quotes the prime minister as saying the BBC needs to explain how scenes of “appalling hate speech” were broadcast. The Daily Express asks why the BBC did not pull the plug on “vile chants”. The Corporation says a warning was shown on screen, and the performance will not be available on demand.
The Daily Mail says the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, has called for BBC chiefs to face charges. The Daily Telegraph says Philp also believes the singer who led the chants should himself be prosecuted for inciting violence. But writing in the Times, the former head of BBC Television, Danny Cohen, says it is the crowds themselves that the Jewish communuity will be disturbed by most. “A mblock display of violent intent against Jews took place at Glastonbury. Murderous hate was celebrated,” he observes, concluding that “racism against Jews is now the only permissible form of racism”.
Another big story is the forthcoming parliamentary vote on the government’s proposed welfare reforms. The Financial Times says the prime minister is still facing a backbench showdown, despite having rowed back on parts of the bill. The Guardian says Vicky Foxcroft – the MP who resigned as a government whip over the cuts – believes the concessions do not yet go far enough. The Daily Mirror argues that whatever changes are made, the most vulnerable must not be made to pay the price.
The i Paper’s chief political commentator, Kitty Donaldson, writes: “You’d be forgiven for thinking Labour’s first year in office has been a carousel of disasters, from freebies to winter fuel and its latest U-turn on welfare reforms.” Listing what she regards as successes in health, education and housing, she notes that the prime minister has “benefited from weak political opposition, which can’t be the case forever. Now his Government needs to avoid even more self-inflicted errors”.
The “heat is on”, says the Daily Mirror as it looks ahead to what it expects to be “the hottest day of the year.” The Daily Star talks of “Meltdown Monday“. With the tennis championships about to begin at Wimbledon, the Daily Express headlines its story “Game, Sweat, Match”.
