UK and Irish governments condemn alleged comments

The UK government has condemned alleged comments made by rap group Kneecap and suggested they should not be able to receive government funding.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch blocked a government grant to the bilingual Belfast group while she was business secretary,

Video footage has emerged of the group at a concert in November 2023, where one of the band members appears to say: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”.

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he did not think “individuals expressing those views should be receiving government funding”.

Kneecap have said on social media that they have “faced a co-ordinated smear campaign”.

In Dublin on Monday the Taoiseach said: “Have they, or do they, support Hamas and Hezbollah, because that would be unacceptable,” he said.

“I mean Hezbollah are responsible, in my view, for the murder of Sean Rooney.

“And both Hamas and Hezbollah have views that are absolutely… not just views, but participated in terrorist activities and appalling killing of innocent people, as witnessed on October the 7th.

“But it’s not clear to me that they do, that Kneecap does support Hezbollah and Hamas. It’s been asserted that they have made commentary in support of both. I think they need to urgently clarify that,” he said.

He said there was a “huge responsibility” when it comes to the safety of public representatives.

“I think it’s important that free speech is always facilitated and the capacity to speak out and criticise and condemn policies of others. That’s all legitimate. But in terms of life and security and safety of people, that’s a different issue,” he added.

Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government after the then Conservative Party Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch withdrew arts funding for the band, in a move which was deemed “unlawful”.

Kneecap was awarded £14,250 – the same amount they were initially granted.

Badenoch said the group should be prosecuted.

Ms Badenoch, speaking on a local election campaigning visit to Lincolnshire, said the statement was “disgusting “and the band “should be prosecuted” and that “people are in prison for sending tweets that don’t go that far”.

She said they “should not be glorifying terrorism” and are “anti-British”.

On Monday the daughter of a Conservative MP who was stabbed to death at a constituency surgery said the rap group should apologise.

Katie Amess, whose father Sir David Amess was an MP when he was murdered in 2021, said she was “gobsmacked at the stupidity of somebody or a group of people being in the public eye and saying such dangerous, violent rhetoric”.

Ms Amess said she would be prepared to meet Kneecap and have a conversation with them.

“If they are willing to listen to how my life has been obliterated and will never be the same, for them to say those words is obviously very triggering,” she said.

Last week, TV personality Sharon Osbourne said the group should have their United States work visas revoked after they ended their set at Coachella, an annual music festival in California, with pro-Palestinian messages.

Ms Osbourne said that Kneecap “took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements”.

When asked by BBC News NI for response, the band said: “Statements aren’t aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is though.”