UKIP wants to deport British punk duo Bob Vylan over 'death to the IDF' Glastonbury chant - but both are from Ipswich

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), UKIP wrote: “‘Bob Vylan’ is going home,” alongside a poster that says, “UKIP pledges to deport ‘Bob Vylan’. Anti-white racists do not belong in Britain. We are taking our country back.”

Asked how they would do it, the party said: “The same way they removed Shamima Begum’s citizenship and barred her from Britain,” UKIP claimed. “The law is already there and there is nothing preventing us from doing the same to extremists like ‘Vylan’.”

The comments were widely mocked and criticised, with users pointing out the band’s British identity and UK roots.

“I love the way you see brown skin and assume this means he's not British. He has a white British mother, you dips***s,” posted one user. “Weird because he is British so I really feel you’re on a hiding to nowhere with this one. Or you are just admitting you are a racist,” said another.

Another commenter noted UKIP’s apparent misunderstanding of the group altogether: “Bob Vylan is a group, not a person – either you haven't realised this or you've made a grammatical error.”

Bob Vylan is made up of frontman Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan. The pair have not publicly shared their real names and formed the group in Ipswich in 2017. Their blend of punk, rap, and hard rock has won them awards including Best Alternative Act at the MOBOs in 2022 and Best Album at the Kerrang! Awards the same year.

The band has built a reputation for confronting racism, far-right politics, toxic masculinity and inequality in their lyrics. Their Glastonbury set on the West Holts Stage last weekend drew headlines after they led chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death to the IDF”. The performance has since led to their U.S. visas being revoked and a criminal investigation announced by police.

Before taking the stage at Glastonbury, they told fans: “Turns out we're finally at a point where the BBC trust us on live TV! Watch us live either in the field or in the comfort of your own home!”

In a 2023 interview with The Guardian, Bobby Vylan described attending his first pro-Palestine protest at age 15 and has since been outspoken about Gaza and the lack of visible solidarity from other artists.