The BBC has apologised for showing Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury hate chant and said that “with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance”.

The corporation said it regretted broadcasting the “utterly unacceptable” words.

The grime-punk rap group led the crowd in a chant of “death, death to the IDF” and the performance was streamed on iPlayer.

In a statement, the BBC said: “Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive. The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence.

“The anti-Semitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. We welcome Glastonbury’s condemnation of the performance.”

The statement added: “The performance was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on BBC iPlayer. The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines. In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand.

“The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.

“In light of this weekend, we will look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air.”