British Airways withdraws sponsorship of Louis Theroux podcast after interview with Bob Phelan | Bob Phelan

British Airways has stopped sponsorship of Louis Theroux’s podcast due to an interview with singer Bob Phelan.

The airline pulled its ads from the journalist’s podcast after he interviewed Bobby Phelan – whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster.

In the video, Phelan said he “does not regret” the chants of “Death, death to the Israeli army.” [Israel Defense Forces]during a performance at Glastonbury Festival this summer. He said he would “do it again tomorrow.”

British Airways told PA Media that the podcast content violated its sponsorship policy.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Our sponsorship of the series has now been paused and the advert has been removed.

“We are grateful that this matter has been brought to our attention, as the content clearly violates our sponsorship policy regarding politically sensitive or controversial topics.

“We and our external media agency have processes in place to ensure these issues do not occur and we are investigating how this could have happened.”

The rap duo were forced to postpone two concerts following the fallout from their performance at Glastonbury – including a show in Manchester – following calls from MPs and Jewish community leaders.

Bob Phelan was dropped by his agency UTA, and the US State Department revoked the members’ visas, forcing them to cancel a North American tour.

In the podcast recorded on October 1, when Theroux asked if Phelan stood by the chant and if he would do it again, he said: “Oh yeah. Like if I went to Glastonbury again tomorrow, yeah I would do it again.”

“I don’t regret it. I’ll do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays. I don’t regret it at all, like the backlash I’ve had. It’s the bare minimum.”

“It’s tiny compared to what people are going through in Palestine. If this is my contribution and if I can host my Palestinian friends and people I meet from Palestine who have had to flee, who have lost family members in double digits and they can say, ‘Oh my God, your song, I love it.’ Or it gives me a breath of fresh air or something.

He said he didn’t want to overstate the importance of the hymn. “That’s not what I’m trying to do, but if I have their support, and they’re the people I’m doing it for, and they’re the people I’m vocal about, then what do I regret? Oh, because I upset some right-wing politician or some right-wing media outlet?”

Vylan’s Glastonbury set was broadcast live by the BBC, which faced criticism for not withdrawing the broadcast. It was found to have violated its editorial guidelines on “harm and offence.”