Germany barred the frontman of controversial British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan from entering the country after police concluded he posed a threat to public safety, it has emerged.
The dramatic move saw singer Pascal Robinson-Foster detained by German federal police at Berlin Brandenburg Airport before being placed on a flight back to Britain last month, according to a report by The Intercept.
The decision is believed to have been triggered by his leading chants of "Death, Death to the IDF" during the band's controversial performance at Glastonbury Festival in 2025.
Then-BBC Director General Tim Davie later admitted the corporation had aired an “antisemitic broadcast” in relation to the band’s set, which was also condemned by numerous politicians, including then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
According to the report, German Federal Police justified the refusal of entry by citing the Glastonbury performance. The Intercept says the entry ban was later lifted, but that German authorities declined to explain either why it had been imposed or why it was subsequently withdrawn.
The magazine says it has seen a German police file describing Robinson-Foster as someone who had spread antisemitic narratives and “Hamas propaganda” capable of "radicalising certain sections of the [German] population" and serving as an "ideological justification" for terrorist organisations or lone attackers.
The document reportedly also concluded that he represented "a danger to public security and order in Germany."
Robinson-Forster told The Intercept: "It is frankly absurd to claim that I am a threat to Germany's national security. It is equally absurd to claim that we are spreading propaganda on behalf of a banned organisation."
Germany has some of Europe's strictest laws and policies on combating antisemitism, reflecting the country's historical responsibility following the Holocaust.
The band has consistently denied allegations of antisemitism and insisted the slogan was directed at the Israeli military rather than Jewish people, describing it as political criticism of Israel's conduct in Gaza.
Criminal investigations into the Glastonbury performance were later dropped by British authorities, meaning neither Robinson-Foster nor fellow band member Laurence George were charged over the chants.
Robinson-Foster's German lawyer, Alexander Gorski, slammed the decision, telling The Intercept: "From the perspective of the rule of law, it is highly problematic that someone can be refused entry because of a political statement that does not constitute a criminal offence."
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