Politics latest: Minister condemns 'appalling' anti-IDF chants at Glastonbury - but tells Israeli embassy to 'get your own house in order'

Wes Streeting was speaking after a performer at Glastonbury Festival led chants of 'death to the IDF', which has been roundly condemned by politicians as well as the festival organisers.

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That's all from us

That's it from the team at the Politics Hub today. 

It's been a busy Sunday, dominated by the government's changes to the welfare bill - returning to parliament on Tuesday, as well as the fall-out from Glastonbury Festival. 

Don't forget, you can catch up on today's edition of Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips below or on YouTube. 

But for now, you can stay up to date by having a look at the key points above, or by scrolling down and seeing how the day unfolded. 

We'll be back bright and early tomorrow morning. 

Thanks for joining us today!

Ex-Tory minister refers himself to standards watchdog over 'cash for questions' accusations

A former Tory minister has referred himself to the parliamentary watchdog following allegations he was paid by a company that helped him write questions to government.

George Freeman, the MP for Norfolk, is reported by The Times to have submitted queries to Labour ministers about the sector the firm operates in.

The newspaper published what it said were leaked emails that showed exchanges in which Freeman had asked the company's director what to ask about as he prepared written parliamentary questions related to space data and emissions tracking.

Written parliamentary questions can be tabled by any MP and are a common way of requesting more information from a minister in a certain department.

 Freeman, who reportedly tabled the questions to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, became a paid adviser with GHGSat, a monitoring service for greenhouse gas emissions, in April last year.

The appointments watchdog Acoba advised him that in taking up the role, "there are risks associated with your influence and network of contacts gained whilst in ministerial office".

"In particular, this is a company that is interested in government policy and decisions relating to the civil space sector and emissions," the watchdog said.

"You noted you have made it clear to the company that you will not lobby government on its behalf, and this will not form part of your role."

In a statement, Freeman said he did not believe he had done "anything wrong" but that he was referring himself to the standards commissioner.

"As a longstanding advocate of important new technologies, companies and industries, working cross-party through APPGs and the select committee, I regularly ask experts for clarification on technical points and terminology, and deeply respect and try to assiduously follow the code of conduct for MPs and the need to act always in the public interest," he said.

"Throughout my 15 years in parliament (and government) I have always understood the need to be transparent in the work I have done for and with commercial clients and charities and am always willing to answer any criticism.

"I don't believe I have done anything wrong, but I am immediately referring myself to the parliamentary commissioner for standards and will accept his judgment in due course."

He added: "I am very concerned at the unauthorised and targeted access to my emails and diary which I have raised with the police and parliamentary authorities."

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "George Freeman MP has referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

"It would be inappropriate for the Conservative Party to comment further whilst the commissioner's inquiries are ongoing."

ICYMI: Supermarkets being told to cut shoppers' calories in obesity crackdown is not 'nanny statism', says Streeting

The health secretary has told Sky News the government's plans to tackle obesity by introducing a health food standard for supermarkets are a "world-first approach" and not "nanny statism".

As part of an initiative aimed at taking some pressure off the NHS, food retailers and manufacturers will "make the healthy choice the easy choice" for customers in the UK, which has the third-highest adult obesity levels in Europe.

Supermarkets will be required to report sales data and those that fail to hit targets could face financial penalties, suggested Nesta, the innovation agency which initially developed the policy.

Speaking on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Wes Streeting said: "Instead of traditional nanny statism, where we regulate more heavily on price or marketing on what's sold, we're taking a world-first approach, which is working with supermarkets using data they already collect about the nutritional value of their shopping baskets and shopping trolleys, the average shop.

"We're going to work with them to reduce the amount of unhealthy food in trolleys and baskets by setting targets on the healthy value of your shopping trolleys and baskets."

Watch Wes Streeting's full interview with Sky News

He said if obese people cut their calorie intake "by about 216 calories a day - the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy coke, we'd halve obesity".

"We've got one in five kids leaving primary school with obesity, it's costing the NHS £11bn a year, and obesity has doubled since the 1990s," he added.

He also said: "If we reduce calorie intake in this country by just 50 calories a day, that would lift 340,000 children out of obesity."

Streeting explained that supermarkets will decide through the combination of where they put their products, how they do price promotions, and what products they choose to put on the shelves.

"They will work with us to make sure that we nudge people in the right direction, without any of us even noticing," he added.

Starmer says he was 'heavily focused' on world affairs before U-turn on welfare bill

Sir Keir Starmer has said he was "heavily focused" on world affairs before he was forced to U-turn on his welfare bill after rebellion by MPs.

In a piece in The Sunday Times, the PM said he was occupied with the G7 and NATO summits and the escalating tensions in the Middle East for much of the past two weeks.

His "full attention really bore down" on the welfare bill on Thursday, he added.

It comes after the government was forced to U-turn on plans to cut sickness and disability benefits after significant rebellion by Labour MPs earlier this week.

The government has since offered concessions ahead of a vote in the Commons on Tuesday, including exempting existing Personal Independence Payment claimants (PIP) from the stricter new criteria, while the universal credit health top-up will only be cut and frozen for new applications.

Starmer defended the U-turn by saying: "Getting it right is more important than ploughing on with a package which doesn't necessarily achieve the desired outcome."

He said all the decisions were his and that "I take ownership of them".

There have been reports that rebel MPs blamed Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney for the government's approach.

The PM said: "My rule of leadership is, when things go well you get the plaudits; when things don't go well you carry the can.

"I take responsibility for all the decisions made by this government. I do not talk about staff and I'd much prefer it if everybody else didn't."

'Death to the IDF' comments were 'appalling', say Lib Dems

The Liberal Democrats have said they recognised that festivals are a "place for debate" but called comments made by Bob Vylan "appalling".

Max Wilkinson, the party's spokesperson for culture, media and sport, said: "Bob Vylan's chants at Glastonbury yesterday were appalling. 

"Cultural events are always a place for debate, but hate speech, antisemitism and incitements to violence have no place at Glastonbury or anywhere in our society.

"Everyone has a responsibility to use language and public platforms carefully."

Bob Vylan's set may have pushed things too far

By Gemma Peplow, culture and entertainment reporter

Bob Vylan, a punk-rap duo known for their politically charged lyrics taking on racism, fascism, police brutality, toxic masculinity, inequality and more, performed on the festival’s third biggest stage, West Holts, with a capacity of about 30,000.

They played to their own fans, but no doubt thousands who had turned out to secure their place for the controversial Irish-language rappers Kneecap who followed.

After the Bob Vylan performance was aired live, clips quickly flooded social media - shared by those supporting the band and condemning them.

"The BBC didn't cover Kneecap's set at Glastonbury Festival over Free Palestine chants, so Bob Vylan, who BBC covered, stepped in," posted the Celebrities4Palestine account alongside a clip on Instagram, also shared by Bob Vylan.

The IDF comments on stage may well have been made regardless. Or did Kneecap's "cancelling" by the BBC, as some people saw it, encourage other acts to speak out even more?

Police are investigating both performances. Kneecap's Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, at one point mentioned "a riot outside the courts" over his bandmate Liam Og O hAnnaidh's (Mo Chara) upcoming second appearance on a terror charge, before clarifying: "No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine."

With its history of activism, Glastonbury has always championed free speech. But it seems Bob Vylan's set may have pushed things too far.

It's fair to say that here at Glastonbury, for most of the 200,000 people on site this weekend, it is still all about the music. The majority did not see these sets, and many are not even aware of the criticism outside Worthy Farm.

Today is the final day of artist performances, with acts including Olivia Rodrigo, Rod Stewart and the Prodigy on the bill. But instead of the magic of the most famous festival in the world, both organisers and the broadcaster are now facing more questions about Bob Vylan and, to a lesser extent, Kneecap, as criticism mounts.

Glastonbury Festival 'should be vetting performers' - Board of Deputies of British Jews

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has said the comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury Festival were "fairly horrific".

Andrew Gilbert, who is the group's vice president, told Sky News that there is "a lot more to be done", by the police, the BBC and by the government. 

Challenged on what Downing Street can practically do to tackle offensive phrases being used, Gilbert acknowledged they have "relatively little" power to change things in this area.

But he said they can put pressure on the organisers of the festival to make sure they properly vet all artists in advance of future events. 

It follows Sir Keir Starmer condemning Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap earlier this year, though the government acknowledged they have no control over the line-up of festivals. 

Gilbert added that he was pleased to see "Lisa Nandy coming out very, very clearly [against the comments] as the culture secretary".

He went on: "I think in the area of culture, media and sport, there has to be a look at how antisemitism is being focussed on and the cancel-culture around it, and what can be done in all sorts of areas."

Gilbert has also called on both the BBC and the organisers of the festival to look at their protocols around hate speech.

He explained: "The BBC and Glastonbury need to work through what they will do if someone is spewing hate in this way and not continue showing it. 

"Why wasn't the performance stopped? Why wasn't the stream stopped?

"So, I don't think the procedures of Glastonbury or the procedures of the BBC were probably as rigorous as they need to be."

However, he did recognise that it was probably "very difficult" for those working on the ground. 

A reminder that Emily Eavis, the organiser of the festival, has condemned the comments made as "appalling", while the BBC has said they were "deeply offensive".

PM and ministers now admitting welfare reforms went too far

It was only ten days ago that embattled Welfare Secretary Liz Kendall, trying to convince MPs to back her reforms, said ministers were "firm in our convictions".

People on PIP and universal credit were too often being "written off", while the welfare bill was becoming unsustainable.

After an unprecedented rebellion by Labour MPs forced the prime minister into a significant retreat, today sees an interesting shift in those convictions. 

Her colleague Wes Streeting, who was drafted onto calls with angry backbenchers, tells Sky News he didn't want disabled people in his constituency surgeries on a Friday, telling him they were worse off when that was not the intention.

Watch Wes Streeting's interview with Sky News in full

This is exactly what many Labour MPs and disability groups were arguing was inevitable if current claimants were stripped of their benefits. 

Sir Keir Starmer, in a series of Sunday newspaper interviews in which he reflects on mistakes, says he now believes there was no point ploughing ahead with something which "doesn't necessarily achieve the desired outcome."

Having rushed forward these reforms to save £5billion in the spending review, it now seems ministers are admitting the package needed more thought.

The welfare bill is rising sharply, and many voters broadly support the idea of tackling it. But even if the draft legislation, which will affect new benefit claimants only, is voted through (and that's still an 'if' with dozens of Labour MPs still weighing it up), this debacle - for many MPs at least - goes to go to the heart of whose side the government is on. 

Bob Vylan comments at Glastonbury Festival were made to challenge the BBC - not create division

By Gemma Peplow, culture and entertainment reporter

Guardian columnist Zoe Williams, who saw both sets, told Sky News she felt the comments by Bob Vylan frontman Bobby Vylan were made in the context of "deliberate provocation", knowing Kneecap’s set was not going to be streamed live, potentially not at all. 

"It was more a kind of, 'try censoring this, BBC'," she said, rather than an attempt at grabbing headlines. 

"It was genuinely unclear at points who they were talking about. There was a long run of expletives at the very end which could have been directed at the BBC, or it could have been just trying to problematise the live stream, or it could have been some other thing altogether."

She said there wasn’t a "huge amount of clarity in the crowd", and added: "I was surprised this morning to hear it described as [the] crowd chanting along with Bob Vylan, because there were points at which, you know, he did say 'Free Palestine' and the crowd definitely responded to that, but… I didn't hear a huge amount of energy in call and response terms." 

In their set, Kneecap did not say anything the ICC [International Criminal Court] wouldn’t say, Williams said, adding that their "riot" comment was the closest they came to real controversy.

She added: "They explicitly [clarified on stage], by the way, this isn't an incitement to a riot… 

"So [the BBC] didn't need to censor them and edit in quite the same caution that they thought they had to, but they probably should have foreseen [not streaming them live] would have blowback on the act before, whoever that would have been."

Why are MPs all talking about Glastonbury Festival?

 There are essentially three big stories politicians are talking about today. 

The first is the government's welfare bill, which aims to cut back on benefits and has been a sore spot for ministers as they faced a huge backbench rebellion.

The second is the government's plans to make people healthier by introducing mandatory healthy food targets for supermarkets, in a bid for Britons to cut calories. (You can see more on that below.)

But the third is Glastonbury Festival. 

The event, in Somerset, is the UK's largest music festival and has always been a political affair, with MPs often in attendance, and then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn taking to the Pyramid Stage in 2017. 

But yesterday, two groups took it to a new level, which some MPs have labelled as not free speech, but an "incitement to kill".

Firstly, Bob Vylan, a hip-hop punk duo, have made headlines for their set on Saturday. 

They took to the stage with a backdrop that said Israel's war in Gaza is a genocide. This is something that has been said before, though that description is not recognised by either the Labour government or the Conservatives. 

But it is the comments made by the duo that has really upset people - and got politicians talking.

One member began chants of "free, free Palestine" with the crowd, before saying to them: "Alright, but have you heard this one, though?

"Death, death to the IDF."

The crowd then chanted this back to the singer. 

Secondly, an Irish hip-hop trio called Kneecap performed at the festival, despite calls from politicians earlier in the year for them to be removed from the line-up.

One of their members is currently charged with a terrorism offence, and is due in court later this year. 

Their performance wasn't televised by the BBC. During it, one of the members mentioned a "riot" ahead of that court hearing, before clarifying: "No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine."

How have politicians responded?

Politicians across the political spectrum have condemned the comments from both groups.

Wes Streeting told Sky News he thought it was "appalling", and that the organisers of the festival, as well as the BBC, have "questions to answer". 

But he also acknowledged the comments were a "shameless publicity stunt" and warned that he doesn't think people should pay the group attention. 

Meanwhile, Helen Whately criticised the BBC for not cutting away from the live broadcast of Bob Vylan. 

She also told Sky News this morning that she thought their comments were "disgusting" and said there should be "some sort of action".

The shadow work and pensions secretary added "it's an awful thing to see that happening in our country" and called it an "incitement to kill". 

Her party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has labelled it "grotesque", "incitement" and an "evil ideology".

Meanwhile, one MP has called on the BBC to no longer broadcast coverage of the festival.

What about the authorities?

Avon and Somerset Police said they are investigating and reviewing the footage of both acts. 

The organisers of Glastonbury Festival have said they are "appalled" by the comments and that they "very much crossed a line".

In a statement, they reminded people that "there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence."

The BBC, meanwhile, has called the comments "deeply offensive" and reiterated that it has no plans to make the set available on iPlayer.