Banksy’s inflatable migrant boat which has appeared for a second time at Glastonbury was condemned today by Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, who said traffickers putting lives at risk should not be joked about.
The maverick artist’s dinghy with dummy migrants was used for crowdsurfing during the festival performance by rapper Little Simz last night – 24 hours after first being unveiled during the set by Bristol rock band Idles.
Critics have branded the boat ‘tasteless’ and Mr Dowden this morning added his voice to the backlash, saying he was ‘really saddened’ by the gesture.
He highlighted how trafficking gangs endanger migrants who hand over thousands of pounds for hazardous journeys across the Channel which can prove fatal.
Only two months ago, five people – including a seven-year-old girl – died while trying to reach Britain by crossing the Channel from France.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said of the Banksy dinghy: ‘How childish. Illegal immigration, from which hard criminals make millions, is neither cool nor edgy.’
One furious BBC viewer said on X: ‘I think it’s in appalling taste and absolutely inappropriate in that setting.’
Another who was watching said: ‘That’s one of the most tasteless things I’ve ever seen – who thought that was a good idea?’
And Mr Dowden told Times Radio today: ‘I was really saddened by it, actually.
‘If you look at what happens with men, women, children being shoved onto those dinghies – the criminal gangs only fill them half with petrol, so they run out halfway across the English Channel and start to sink, endangering people’s lives.
‘I don’t think this is a sort of thing to joke around with at Glastonbury.’
He also told LBC radio: ‘This isn’t something for joking about with and it disappoints me that some people feel that it is.’
Banksy’s was one of a series of political gestures by artists at the festival, which included Blur frontman Damon Albarn taking to the stage and asking the crowd ‘Are you pro-Palestine? Do you feel that’s an unfair war?’ during a surprise appearance.
Singer Charlotte Church sang ‘free Palestine’ and wore a keffiyeh – a scarf seen as suggesting solidarity with Palestinians – as she led an improvised number with the audience.
Critics of the stances pointed out that the October 7 terror attacks carried out by Hamas started at a music festival.
Others said it was ironic that activists seemed to be advocating opposition to border controls when the Worthy Farm site is surrounded by a ring of steel.
Meanwhile, Little Simz rhymed effortlessly while performing tracks from her Mercury Prize-winning album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert and her latest studio record No Thank You, at the Pyramid Stage on Saturday.
Dressed in a leather jacket emblazoned with ‘Little Simz’ and a long skirt, she began by performing her song Silhouette from the record No Thank You while strutting around the stage alone.
She also performed renditions of No Merci and I Love You, I Hate You solo before telling the crowd that they ‘should understand that you are witnessing greatness’.
Idles, who were performing a set when the incident took place, say they were unaware of the stunt until they left the stage.
During last night’s performance, the rock band also led the Glastonbury crowd in chanting ‘F*** the King’ as the festival turned political with the band’s vocalist Joe Talbot also singing an ‘anti-Farage song’.
Friday’s display is not the first time that Banksy, believed to be public school-educated Robin Gunningham, has made his pro-migrant views known.
The graffiti artist previously funded a migrant rescue ship, which was impounded in Italy last year after responding to distress calls in the Mediterranean.
The MV Louise Michel was seized on the island of Lampedusa after Italy’s coast guard said the boat had disobeyed its instructions to head to Sicily.
Banksy was involved in rescuing migrants making crossings as early as September 2019, when he emailed German born activist Pia Klemp who has captained a number of NGO rescue ships.
He wrote: ‘Hello Pia, I’ve read about your story in the papers. You sound like a badass.
‘I am an artist from the UK and I’ve made some work about the migrant crisis, obviously I can’t keep the money. Could you use it to buy a new boat or something? Please let me know. Well done. Banksy.’
And in 2018, the artist ‘blitzed’ Paris with works criticising France’s tough anti-migrant policy at the time, including one featuring a young black girl spraying a pink wallpaper pattern over a swastika on a wall next to her sleeping bag and teddy bear in an attempt to make her patch of pavement more cosy.
Idles’ politically-charged performance was just one of a number of statements made during the third day of the festival in Somerset.
Blur frontman Damon Albarn discussed Gaza and suggested Joe Biden was too old to be president during his surprise appearance at Worthy Farm.
It came as Welsh singer Charlotte Church also sang ‘free Palestine’ and wore a keffiyeh as she led an improvised number with the audience.
Albarn came on stage to accompany indie band Bombay Bicycle Club for their song Heaven, on which he features for their latest album.
He was met with cheers of approval by a crowd of thousands as he made three political statements.
‘It’s very nice to be here thank you – thank you to Jack and everybody,’ Albarn said.
‘Three things – you have to show me how you feel about it – are you pro Palestine? Do you feel that’s an unfair war?
‘The importance of voting next week – I don’t blame you for being ambivalent about that, but it’s still really important.
‘And thirdly – maybe it’s time we stopped putting octogenarians in charge of the whole world?’
The latter appeared to be a reference to the 81-year-old Mr Biden, who has faced fierce criticism over his performance in a debate against Donald Trump.
Meanwhile Charlotte Church sang ‘free Palestine’ with a crowd of hundreds as she led an improvised number with the audience during an intimate and politically charged appearance at Glastonbury Festival.
The Welsh singer’s performance at Worthy Farm comes months after she said police had to check on her because her safety and that of her family has been threatened after she took part in a pro-Palestine march in London.
The 38-year-old, who strongly denied claims of antisemitism at the time and voiced her support for Jewish people, joined Billy Bragg’s Radical Round Up at Worthy Farm’s Left Field stage on Friday.
Wearing a long red dress, Church also had a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headdress which has become a symbol of Palestine, over her shoulder.
‘Hiya babes – lots of love from Wales my darlings,’ Church said as she greeted the crowd.
‘I sort of want to give you the mic today… there’s so much untapped singing potential in you guys which we’re going to explore.’
Church told the crowd she would lead them in collaborative vocal improvisation, seeing her improvise lyrics over a chorus of humming from the audience.
‘It’s Friday at Glastonbury, all the adventures you’re going to have and the things you’ll see, music, dance and sing,’ Church’s improvisation began.
‘The spirit of expression… and now you can say that you performed at Glastonbury, sing it to me now.’
Banksy has previously been rumoured to be involved in a woke new stage at the festival that celebrates immigration to the UK and declared that ‘no human is illegal’.
The new festival area, named Terminal 1, is constructed of yellow steel and glass and has been made to look like the part of an airport terminal where passengers board a plane.
The stage is made from ‘re-purposed’ airport materials and comes complete with seats for passengers to wait, trolleys to carry bags, and a departures board.
Outside the stage there are ‘UK Border’ huts and poles covered in CCTV cameras, while a sign above the artists booth reads: ‘Powered by immigration.’
Glastonbury’s Terminal 1 area is named after the now disused Heathrow Terminal 1, which was in operation between 1968 and 2015.
Rumours have travelled around the festival site that secretive British graffiti artist Banksy was involved in producing the new area – although this has not been officially confirmed.
Announcing that Terminal 1 would be at the festival this year on social media, Glastonbury declared that ‘no human is illegal’.
The small print on the poster also states that ‘to gain entry all British citizens must successfully answer a question from the UKGOV citizenship test’.
The test, which those who apply for settlement in the UK must pass, has come under criticism for being ‘arbitrary’ with answers often unknown to even those born in Britain.
Glastonbury founder Sir Michael Eavis unveiled Terminal 1, explaining it is designed to help people grapple with complex immigration issues.
He expressed optimism over immigration, adding: ‘We can be friendly to these unfortunate people in the boats.
‘It’s demonstrating, the whole festival is, really, that you can get on with your neighbour. And they’re putting all of that into a show. Isn’t that amazing?’