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Large parts of the UK will be under a three-day snow warning from this weekend as forecasters warn that people living in rural communities could become cut off.

The yellow warning is due to come into force at midday on Saturday and will last until 9am on Monday.

It covers all regions of England apart from the South West, most of Wales and some of southern Scotland.

Pic: Met Office
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A yellow warning will be in place for snow from Saturday until Monday. Pic: Met Office

UK severe weather: Latest updates

The warning comes as a major incident was declared in Greater Manchester by police after flooding forced homes to be evacuated and closed train lines and roads following heavy rain.

Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to fall with some northern parts seeing the mercury fall as low as -10C (14F).

About 5cm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England, with as much as 20-30cm (8-12ins) over high ground in Wales and/or the Pennines, according to the Met Office.

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People trapped in flat by floodwaters

It said: “Heavy snow may cause some disruption over the weekend”, adding: “There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected.”

The weather agency went on: “There is a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off. There is a chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel.”

Advice for motorists

The Met Office said snowy, wintry weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous, so to keep yourself and others safe, plan your route, checking for delays and road closures, amending your travel plans if necessary.

Leave more time to prepare and check your car before setting off. Also, make sure you have essentials packed in your car in the event of any delays – warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de-icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger.

How to prepare for possible power cuts

The Met Office said people cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance – so those who may be affected should consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

The agency has also said there is a yellow warning in place for snow and ice covering northern Scotland from 4am on Wednesday until 10am on Thursday, which could lead to some travel disruption and difficult driving conditions.

And a yellow ice warning has been issued from 4pm on Wednesday until 10am on Thursday, covering Northern Ireland, parts of North Wales, northern England and all of Scotland, which could also lead to difficult travel conditions.

It comes as strong winds and heavy rain have been battering the UK, with some flooding.

Abandoned cars after flooding in Manchester. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Abandoned cars after flooding in Manchester. Pic: Reuters

‘Major incident’ declared

Amid the floods, Greater Manchester Police said a major incident was declared as mountain rescue teams have been deployed to help the fire and rescue service deal with damaged properties and stranded vehicles.

Some residents have been asked to evacuate where flood warnings have been issued, Manchester City Council said.

Flooding has been reported in areas across Greater Manchester including Bolton, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan, police have said.

Rain falls as performers prepare to take part in the New Year's Day Parade in central London. Pic: PA
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Rain fell as performers prepared to take part in the New Year’s Day Parade in central London. Pic: PA

The North West and Wales experienced heavy rain for much of the morning on Wednesday, which comes after the Met Office said some parts of the North West saw almost a month’s worth of rain within 48 hours.

Honister Pass in Cumbria had nearly 150mm (6ins) of rain, while Rochdale in Greater Manchester had 77mm (3ins).

More than 50 flood warnings, meaning flooding was expected, were in place for England, eight for Wales and 15 for Scotland.

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Looking ahead, Sky’s weather producer Dr Chris England said: “A northerly flow will make it much colder over the next few days, with extensive overnight frosts and daytime temperatures in the low single figures Celsius.

“Some northern parts can expect temperatures down to -10C (14F), perhaps less, and will stay freezing all day. The UK Health Security Agency has issued yellow cold weather alerts to prepare responders to risk from the wintry spells. There’ll be some dense freezing fog around too.”

He added: “The weekend will bring the risk of extensive and significant snow over England, Wales and perhaps southern Scotland, as rain expected to move up from the South West later on Saturday and Sunday turns to snow on its leading edge, before turning to rain and clearing on Monday.”

The start of London’s New Year’s Day Parade was delayed by 30 minutes due to high winds being forecast, and inflatable cartoon characters were no longer going to be used, event spokesman Dan Kirkby said.

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Starmer condemns ‘appalling hate speech’ at Glastonbury – as organiser says anti-IDF chants ‘crossed a line’

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Starmer condemns 'appalling hate speech' at Glastonbury - as organiser says anti-IDF chants 'crossed a line'

The prime minister has criticised chants of “death to the IDF” during a Glastonbury performance on Saturday, while festival organiser Emily Eavis said they had “very much crossed a line”.

Responding on Sunday to rap duo Bob Vylan’s set the day before, Sir Keir Starmer said: “There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech.”

In the same statement, the prime minister repeated his previous argument that the Belfast rap group Kneecap should have been removed from the line-up after one member was charged with a terrorism offence.

“I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.

“The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.”

On Sunday, Ms Eavis, whose father Michael co-founded the festival, posted her response to Bob Vylan’s performance.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” she wrote.

She said that while “as a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism – we will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love”, adding a performer’s comments “should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs”.

Eavis added: “With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share.”

Read more
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Festival performers criticise political interference
Lewis Capaldi plays not-so-secret set

The rappers’ set was streamed live on the BBC on Saturday, showing one of them shouting the slogan into the mic, with some of the crowd joining in.

They also performed in front of a screen that claimed Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to “genocide”.

Posting on Instagram on Sunday, drummer Bobby Vylan doubled down by repeating elements of the chant alongside a picture of himself.

Both members of the band, Bobbie and Bobby Vylan, posted on Instagram following their set on Saturday. Pic: Instagram/Bobby Vylan
Image:
Both members of the band, Bobby and Bobbie Vylan, posted on Instagram following their set on Saturday. Pic: Instagram/Bobby Vylan

The Israeli embassy posted on X in the hours after the set saying it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric”.

It said the slogan used “advocates for the dismantling of the State of Israel”.

The post on X added: “When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence.”

In a separate post on X on Sunday, Israel’s foreign ministry published graphic footage following the attack by Hamas on the Nova festival in Israel on 7 October 2023. The message directly appealed to those at Glastonbury who joined in the chants.

“On October 7th, Hamas terrorists murdered hundreds of innocent partygoers at the Nova festival. For those at the Glastonbury festival who need a reality check, let this footage serve as a reminder to what you are supporting.”

Meanwhile the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it will be formally complaining to the BBC over its “outrageous decision” to broadcast the performance.

Avon and Somerset Police said they are looking at whether a criminal offence was committed.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation,” the force said in a post on social media.

Bob Vylan’s set may have pushed things too far


Gemma Peplow

Gemma Peplow

Culture and entertainment reporter

@gemmapeplow

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.

Bob Vylan went on stage just ahead of a performance by Kneecap, the Irish rap band that the prime minister and others called to be removed from the Glastonbury and other festival line-ups over alleged on-stage endorsements of terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Ultimately, the BBC decided not to broadcast Kneecap’s set live, but have since made it available to watch on catch-up on iPlayer.

One of its members, Liam Og O hAnnaidh, was charged with a terror offence in May after being accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig.

His bandmate Naoise O Caireallain told Glastonbury crowds on Saturday they should “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.”

O hAnnaidh – also known as Mo Chara – wore a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf for their set and told fans he was a “free man”.

Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap on stage on Saturday. Pic: Reuters

Questions over why BBC broadcast chants

The government’s culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to BBC boss Tim Davie for an “urgent explanation” about what steps were taken around the Bob Vylan set.

Speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on behalf of the government, Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the chant as “appalling” and a “shameless publicity stunt”.

“The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival – when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive,” he said in reference to the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack at the Nova music festival.

He added that while “there’s no justification for inciting violence against Israelis… the way in which Israel’s conducting this war has made it extremely difficult for Israel’s allies around the world to stand by and justify”.

“I’d also say to the Israeli embassy, get your own house in order, in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank,” he told Phillips.

Crowd and flags at Glastonbury. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Palestinian flags at Glastonbury. Pic: Reuters

Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch reposted a clip of the Bob Vylan set describing it as “grotesque”.

“Violence against Jews isn’t edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked,” she said on X.

Lucy McMullin, who was in the crowd for Bob Vylan, told Sky News: “When there’s children and civilians being murdered and starved, then I think it’s important that people are speaking out on these issues.

“However, inciting more death and violence is not the way to do it.”

A BBC spokesperson confirmed the Bob Vylan stream will not be made available to watch on its iPlayer.

“Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive,” their statement said.

“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”

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Who are Bob Vylan – the duo who ‘very much crossed the line’ at Glastonbury with anti-IDF chant?

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Who are Bob Vylan - the duo who 'very much crossed the line' at Glastonbury with anti-IDF chant?

Musicians, especially punk acts, making headlines for their politics is nothing new.

The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Rage Against The Machine – in 2025, it’s Kneecap and now Bob Vylan riling politicians.

But in the case of chants made by Bob Vylan on stage at Glastonbury, it is not just MPs. Festival organiser Emily Eavis has also condemned the comments despite the festival’s advocacy for free speech, saying they “very much crossed a line”.

Police are investigating footage of the performance, which has since been removed by the BBC, to see if any offences were committed.

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What’s the Glastonbury controversy?

So who are Bob Vylan?

The duo are Bobby Vylan, the frontman, and drummer Bobbie Vylan. They have not revealed their real names to protect their privacy.

They formed in Ipswich in 2017 and their musical style is a mix of punk, rap, and hard rock.

They have released three albums – We Live Here (2020), Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life (2022), and last year’s Humble As The Sun – and their music has won them awards including best alternative act at the MOBOs in 2022, and best album at the Kerrang Awards in the same year.

Their songs confront issues including racism, homophobia, toxic masculinity, and far-right politics, and the track Pretty Songs is often introduced by Bobby saying that “violence is the only language that some people understand”.

Gigs often include some crowd-surfing from the frontman, and they have collaborated with artists including Amyl And The Sniffers singer Amy Taylor, Soft Play guitarist Laurie Vincent, and rock band Kid Kapichi.

In an interview with The Guardian last year, Bobby Vylan told how he attended his first pro-Palestine protest at the age of 15, escorted by a friend’s mother.

The duo have been outspoken on the war in Gaza and called out other acts seen as left-wing who haven’t been showing the same amount of public solidarity.

Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. Yui Mok/PA Wire
Image:
Bob Vylan on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury on Saturday. Pic: PA

The Glastonbury set

Before their appearance at the festival, the duo highlighted it to fans watching at home, posting on Facebook: “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!”

On stage, they performed in front of a screen bearing several statements, including one which claimed Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to “genocide”.

Afterwards, as controversy over the set grew, they appeared to double down with statements shared on social media.

Their comments have drawn criticism from the Israeli embassy and MPs – and now Glastonbury and Emily Eavis, too.

Read more
Festival performers criticise political interference

Bob Vylan member on stage. Pic: PA
Image:
Bobby Vylan on stage. Pic: PA

Both members of the band, Bobbie and Bobby Vylan, posted on Instagram following their set on Saturday. Pic: Instagram/Bobby Vylan
Image:
Both members of the band, Bobbie and Bobby Vylan, posted on Instagram following their set on Saturday. Pic: Instagram/Bobby Vylan

Bob Vylan performed on stage ahead of Kneecap, kept on the bill despite calls for them to be axed.

Michael Eavis, the festival’s founder, said before the event that people who did not like the politics could “go somewhere else”.

However, Bob Vylan’s comments pushed things too far, a statement posted by the festival and Emily Eavis said on Sunday morning.

“As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism,” the statement said. “We will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love.”

With almost 4,000 performances over the weekend, there will be artists and speakers appearing “whose views we do not share”, they continued, “and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs”.

But they described the statements by Bob Vylan as “appalling”.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”

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Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis says anti-IDF chants ‘crossed a line’ and no place at festival for ‘hate speech’

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Starmer condemns 'appalling hate speech' at Glastonbury - as organiser says anti-IDF chants 'crossed a line'

Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has said chants of “death to the IDF” on its West Holts stage on Saturday “very much crossed a line”.

Eavis, whose father Michael co-founded the festival, posted on Instagram on Sunday morning responding to rap duo Bob Vylan’s set the day before.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” she wrote.

She said that while “as a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism – we will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love”, adding a performer’s comments “should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs”.

Eavis added: “With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share.”

Read more
Pulp revealed as mystery Glastonbury band
Festival performers criticise political interference
Lewis Capaldi plays not-so-secret set

The rappers’ set was streamed live on the BBC on Saturday, showing one of them shouting the slogan into the mic, with some of the crowd joining in.

They also performed in front of a screen that claimed Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to “genocide”.

The Israeli embassy posted on X in the hours after the set saying it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric”.

It said the slogan used “advocates for the dismantling of the State of Israel”.

The post on X added: “When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What’s the Glastonbury controversy?

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it will be formally complaining to the BBC over its “outrageous decision” to broadcast the performance.

Avon and Somerset Police said they are looking at whether a criminal offence was committed.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation,” the force said in a post on social media.

Bob Vylan’s set may have pushed things too far


Gemma Peplow

Gemma Peplow

Culture and entertainment reporter

@gemmapeplow

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.

Bob Vylan went on stage just ahead of a performance by Kneecap, the Irish rap band that the prime minister and others called to be removed from the Glastonbury and other festival line-ups over alleged on-stage endorsements of terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Ultimately, the BBC decided not to broadcast Kneecap’s set live, but have since made it available to watch on catch-up on iPlayer.

One of its members, Liam Og O hAnnaidh, was charged with a terror offence in May after being accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig.

His bandmate Naoise O Caireallain told Glastonbury crowds on Saturday they should “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.”

O hAnnaidh – also known as Mo Chara – wore a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf for their set and told fans he was a “free man”.

Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap on stage on Saturday. Pic: Reuters

Questions over why BBC broadcast chants

The government’s culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to BBC boss Tim Davie for an “urgent explanation” about what steps were taken around the Bob Vylan set.

Speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on behalf of the government, Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the chant as “appalling” and a “shameless publicity stunt”.

“The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival – when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive,” he said in reference to the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack at the Nova music festival.

He added that while “there’s no justification for inciting violence against Israelis… the way in which Israel’s conducting this war has made it extremely difficult for Israel’s allies around the world to stand by and justify”.

“I’d also say to the Israeli embassy, get your own house in order, in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank,” he told Phillips.

Crowd and flags at Glastonbury. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Palestinian flags at Glastonbury. Pic: Reuters

Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch reposted a clip of the Bob Vylan set describing it as “grotesque”.

“Violence against Jews isn’t edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked,” she said on X.

Lucy McMullin, who was in the crowd for Bob Vylan, told Sky News: “When there’s children and civilians being murdered and starved, then I think it’s important that people are speaking out on these issues.

“However, inciting more death and violence is not the way to do it.”

A BBC spokesperson confirmed the Bob Vylan stream will not be made available to watch on its iPlayer.

“Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive,” their statement said.

“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”

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