Cleverly accuses Glastonbury festival-goers of ‘celebrating loss of life’ after Banksy small boats stunt

The home secretary attacked the artist and revellers at the festival for ‘joking about and celebrating’ small boat migration

James Cleverly has accused festival-goers of “celebrating the loss of life in the Channel” after a Banksy stunt at Glastonbury.

The home secretary attacked the artist and revellers at the festival, claiming they were “joking about and celebrating” small boat migration.

“People die in the Mediterranean, people die in the Channel, this is not funny, it is vile,” he told Sky News on Monday morning. “This is a celebration of the loss of life in the Channel,” Mr Cleverly told Sky News.

A Banksy work appeared in the crowd during IDLES’s Glastonbury 2024 set (X/Twitter/ @MrCarb1)

It came after a small boat filled with migrant dummies in orange life jackets was hoisted into the crowd gathered to watch the band Idles play on the Other Stage at Worthy Farm on Friday night.

On Sunday, Banksy claimed the stunt and posted a video of the boat sailing through the crowd during the band’s set to his Instagram page. The band said they were unaware of the stunt until after their set.

The boat appeared while the Bristol rock band was performing Danny Nedelko, a 2018 release that begins with the lyrics: “My blood brother is an immigrant, a beautiful immigrant.”

Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden also hit out at the stunt, telling Times Radio: “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 the sort of thing to joke around with at Glastonbury.”

James Cleverly accused revellers of ‘joking about and celebrating’ small boat crossings (Sky News)

Pressed on what action the government is taking to prevent the loss of life in the English Channel, he said: “I am determined to break the criminal gangs, we are going after their money, we are going after the boats and we are going after the engines.

“Something like that is deeply distasteful, children die in the Channel because of the actions of these vile criminals and joking about it and celebrating I think is completely wrong.”

Last week Rishi Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats” carrying migrants across the Channel suffered a blow as the number of arrivals since he became crossed 50,000 - including a record number this year so far.