Five people have been arrested after rival protesters clashed outside a Bob Vylan gig in north London.
The Met Police said that the arrests were made after two protests took place outside the O2 Forum in Kentish Town on Tuesday night.
The punk duo sparked controversy at Glastonbury this summer after frontman Bobby Vylan (real name Pascal Robinson-Foster) led the crowd in a chant of “Death, death to the IDF” — referring to Israel’s Defence Forces — during their West Holts Stage set.
The Met Police confirmed that a pro-Palestine protester was arrested in relation to chants referencing the IDF outside the venue, which is in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency.
Another protester from the Stop the Hate demonstration was also arrested on suspicion of common assault following an altercation involving another protester.
A further three people, two from the Stop the Hate protest and one from the pro-Palestine protest, were arrested on suspicion of breaching Public Order Act conditions, the Met added.
Protesters from the Stop The Hate advocacy group began to gather outside the O2 Forum at 6.30pm on Tuesday to oppose the gig, while counter-protesters from the Palestine Coalition assembled in support of the musicians.
It comes after Robinson-Foster was interviewed by Avon and Somerset Constabulary, following an investigation launched months ago to determine whether any offences were committed during his Glastonbury set.
The performance sparked outrage from critics, including MPs and community groups, while the BBC came under fire for failing to halt its livestream of the gig.
The Stop the Hate advocacy group had claimed there had been widespread community objection to the Bob Vylan gig in Kentish Town.
According to the Jewish News, 1,000 people had written to their local council leader to express their concerns.
A spokesperson from the group had said that the event “raises legitimate fears of fueling anti-Jewish hostility”.
Bob Vylan were dropped from several festivals and performances following their Glastonbury performance and had their visas revoked ahead of a planned US tour.
The group also recently postponed two UK shows, including one in Manchester, amid calls from Jewish leaders and MPs for the events to be cancelled.
Avon and Somerset Police said a man in his 30s, understood to be Robinson-Foster, had voluntarily attended an interview on Monday, after the force received advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
British Airways paused their sponsorship of the Louis Theroux podcast in October following an interview with Robinson-Foster, which saw him say he was "not regretful" of the chant and would "do it again tomorrow".
Last week, the Manchester Evening News’ publisher Reach was forced to apologise to Robinson Foster after it wrongly reported he had “performed Nazi salutes on stage”.
The paper clarified that the rapper had in fact been performing a sun salutation as part of a guided meditation at a gig in Manchester on October 6.
