The BBC has defended stand-up comedian Fin Taylor's provocative joke about bombing Glastonbury to kill off Jeremy Corbyn supporters on Have I Got News For You.

When he appeared on the show on Friday, November 20, Taylor compared the ex-Labour leader to Bob Dylan, “in that I only hate him so much because of his fans”. 

He said: “People think that Bob Dylan’s the greatest musician that ever lived, and you listen to some of it and it’s awful. But then people are so dogmatic and say he’s the greatest musician. People who like Corbyn, it’s what, 200,000 people in the Labour party that are fanatics? So all you’ve got to do next year is bomb Glastonbury. Hopefully Dylan’s headlining: two birds, one stone.”

Ian Hislop joked to Taylor after his remark: “Well, that’s the end of your career.”

The Guardian reports that the BBC has responded to complaints by saying: “After more than 30 years on air, Have I Got News For You is a well-established comedy series that has built a reputation for irreverent humour and satire. Regular viewers expect the panellists to make jokes and understand that contributions are intended to be funny and amusing, and this edition was no exception. It was clear that comedian Fin Taylor was talking about an utterly absurd scenario, in which he compared Jeremy Corbyn to Bob Dylan, and was in no way whatsoever to be taken seriously.”

BBC One is to broadcast a programme celebrating 30 years of Have I Got News For You over Christmas.

Watch Fin Taylor on Live at the Apollo below