Kneecap lead Glastonbury chants of 'F*** Keir Starmer' and urge crowds to riot in Westminster court when one of the Irish rappers next appears on Hezbollah flag charge

Daily Mail​

5 hours ago

Controversial Irish band, Kneecap, led chants of 'F*** Keir Starmer' and urged crowds to riot in the Westminster courts during their headline set at Glastonbury Festival yesterday.
The group's lead rapper, Liam O'Hanna, 27, whose stage name is Mo Chara, is on unconditional bail after being charged with terrorism for supporting Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
Addressing the charges to more than 30,000 revellers at Worthy Farm, his band mate Naoise Ó Cairealláin, known as Moglai Bap, said: 'Mo Chara is back in court for a trumped up terrorism charge.
'It's not the first time there has been a miscarriage of justice for an Irish person in the British justice system. So now you know he's available on the 20th August at Westminster, support Mo Chara and let's start a riot in the courts.'
Later on in the hour long set, Mo Chara said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play so f*** Keir Starmer,' before leading a chant against him.
The band's third member DJ Provai, whose real name is J. J. Ó Dochartaigh, removed a red boiler suit to reveal a Palestine Action t-shirt - a group the government are preparing to ban under UK anti-terrorism laws.
The controversial Irish language band took to social media an hour before their performance and posted a photo of DJ Provai wearing the shirt which read 'We are all Palestine Action' after the government moved to proscribe the organisation, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action.
Tensions had already been running high before the set began as they were preceded by the hip hop duo, Bob Vylan, who led chants of 'Death to the IDF' the Israel Defence Force.
As the trio walked onto the stage they played a compilation of their critics' voices over the speakers starting with a BBC broadcast announcing the terrorism charges against Mo Charah.
It was followed by the former DUP leader, Arlene Foster, when she infamously said, 'I live rent free in their head' as she features on their posters and lyrics after she expressed they had 'overstepped the mark' with their comments about Hamas and Hezbollah.
On their Instagram, the band put out a statement which read: 'The crowd expected today is far greater than West Holts capacity so 'You'll need to be very early to catch us father… very early.'
The stage, which has a capacity for 30,000 people, was shut 47 minutes before the trio were due to perform to avoid severe overcrowding in the area.
They also hit out at the BBC in the same statement calling it 'the propaganda wing of the regime'.
It comes as Glastonbury bosses closed the stage where the controversial Irish language rap group performed yesterday amid crowd crush fears.
The rap trio took to the West Holts stage at 4pm on Saturday, just over a week after one of their members appeared in court on terror charges.
To finish their set, the group led chants of 'Free, Free Palestine' and 'f*** Keir Starmer' as the crowd was filled with flags supporting Gaza.
Mo Chara, wearing a keffiyeh, said 'Glastonbury, I'm a free man' as the Irish rap trio took to the West Holts Stage. The group thanked the Eavis family for their support and attacked the British justice system for his arrest.
Moglai Bap said: 'It's not the first time there has been a miscarriage of justice for an Irish in the British justice system. So now you know he's available on the 20th August at Westminster, support Mo Chara and let's start a riot in the Westminster courts.'
Coming back shortly after he added: 'Just to clarify, I don't want anybody to start a riot.'
The group has defended their previous provocative performances as 'satirical' ahead of performing at Glastonbury, as the BBC said it would not be livestreaming their set. Instead, thousands tuned into a stream of the show on TikTok by a middle-aged woman called Helen.
Speaking to the packed-out crowd, the group said: ' Israel are war criminals. It's a genocide.
'I can see so many Palestine flags, the BBC editing, they are going to have some f***ing problems.
'Glastonbury I am so f***ing proud of you guys.'
But some 45 minutes before their set was to start organisers were forced to shut off entry to the area surrounding the stage as it was already rammed with festivalgoers, many waving Irish or Palestinian flags.
Despite organisers deploying extra precautions to prevent crowd crushing, insiders have told MailOnline Glastonbury bosses are concerned about instances of dangerous overcrowding.
To tackle the festival-wide problem of overcrowding at stages, daughter of the co-founder Emily Eavis said they had sold 'a few thousand fewer tickets' and expanded the capacity of the stages.
But a source close to the festival has told MailOnline: 'Crowd crushing is still a massive concern at Glastonbury, over the weekend there are several warnings that have been issued to workers to watch out for certain areas.
'The Woodsies stage is the biggest headache because they've misjudged acts like Lola Young and Lorde so it definitely was a bit touch and go on Friday.'
The controversial Irish band, Kneecap, told fans to get to their set early on their Instagram because 'The crowd expected today is far greater than West Holts capacity.'
Mo Chara, along with bandmates Naoise Ó Caireallain (Móglaí Bap), and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvaí), have repeatedly argued controversy surrounding their performances is a distraction from the horrors endured by Palestinians amid Israel's war in Gaza.
They said they are happy to lose income and clout in order to be 'on the right side of history', and said they hoped that 'being vocal and being unafraid' would encourage other bands to speak up on Palestine.
As the trio took to the stage, they displayed a huge 'Free Palestine' message on the screen behind them.
Mo Chara said: 'We understand how important it is to show solidarity. The Irish suffered 800 years of colonialism at the hand of the British state, boo.
'But guys we were never bombed from the skies with nowhere to go, the Palestinians have nowhere to f***ing go. Not only are they being bombed from the skies, they are now being starved to death.
'Kids are being starved to death in this day and age. I don't have the luxury of you people watching, we all have a phone, there's no f***ing hiding it - Israel are war criminals. And it's important I know sometimes, I'm seeing a lot of Palestinian flags here and it's what we're saying.
'The BBC are going to rescind you all. So sometimes we feel helpless and that we're not doing enough and that's probably true sometimes but the difference it makes for the people of Palestine when they see people from the other side of the world, this many people, screaming free Palestine. '
Their performance will not be live-streamed but is likely to be made available later on iPlayer, the BBC has said. The set list for performances on the stage aired on iPlayer does not acknowledge the band are playing - leaping from Bob Vylan at 14.30 straight to Yussef Dayes at 17.30.
Senior Westminster politicians have criticised their participation in the popular music festival and called for them to be removed from the line-up, but festival bosses refused to do so.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he does not think it is 'appropriate' for Kneecap to perform at Glastonbury, while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she thought the BBC 'should not be showing' Kneecap's performance.
Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, appeared in court last week after being charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year.
Glastonbury organisers were forced to shut access to the stage 45 minutes before the set was due to begin due to overcrowding
On June 18 the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts.
The band were also criticised following footage of a November 2023 gig allegedly showing a member saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.'
He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20.
Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, said the videos only resurfaced after Kneecap performed at Coachella in April, where they said 'F*** Israel. Free Palestine '.
Immediately before the set at Glastonbury on Saturday, artist Bob Vylan displayed a Palestine flag as he walked on stage.
During the set, the singer led chants of 'free free Palestine', and 'death death to the IDF' in a show livestreamed on the BBC.
A BBC spokesperson said: 'As the broadcast partner, the BBC is bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers.
'While the BBC doesn't ban artists, our plans ensure that our programming meets our editorial guidelines. We don't always live-stream every act from the main stages and look to make an on-demand version of Kneecap's performance available on our digital platforms, alongside more than 90 other sets.'
Kemi Badenoch retweeted a post on X on Saturday criticising the BBC for saying it would likely put Kneecap's set on iPlayer
It is understood the BBC needs to consider the performance before making a final decision.
The band said on Instagram: 'The propaganda wing of the regime has just contacted us....
'They WILL put our set from Glastonbury today on the iPlayer later this evening for your viewing pleasure.'
But the group's loyal fanbase was left fuming by the news the performance would not be livestreamed.
One said: 'Kneecap not going to be broadcast live from the BBC today, Jesus wept.'
A second added: 'If the BBC can't broadcast #Glastonbury2025 live, as the licence fee paying public expect, then it's time to give the broadcasting rights to a provider who will. #Kneecap.'
Another fan said: 'So the same BBC that gives a platform for genocide apologists every week, unchallenged by their pathetic 'reporters' will heavily edit KNEECAP'S set today and only show you what they think is relevant.'
A fourth said: 'By trying to ban Kneecap all people are doing is highlighting their message. I dont like Kneecap but this Glasto/BBC charade has been pathetic.'
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper ahead of Glastonbury, Ó hAnnaidh defended their performances as 'satirical'.
'It's a joke. I'm a character. Shit is thrown on stage all the time. If I'm supposed to know every f****** thing that's thrown on stage I'd be in Mensa,' he said.
'I don't know every proscribed organisation - I've got enough s**t to worry about up there. I'm thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat.'
Asked about the 'dead Tory' comments, he said it was 'a joke' and 'we're playing characters'.
'It's satirical, it's a f****** joke. And that's not the point,' he said.
'The point is, that (video) wasn't an issue until we said 'Free Palestine' at Coachella. That stuff happened 18 months ago, and nobody batted an eyelid.
'Everybody agreed it was a f****** joke, even people that may have been in the room that didn't agree - it's a laugh, we're all having a bit of craic.
'The point is, and the context is, it all (resurfaced) because of Coachella. That's what we should be questioning, not whether I regret things.'
Ó hAnnaidh added: 'If you believe that what a satirical band who play characters on stage do is more outrageous than the murdering of innocent Palestinians, then you need to give your head a f****** wobble.'
Conservative Party leader Ms Badenoch previously said she thought the BBC 'should not be showing' Kneecap's performance at the festival.
She wrote in a post on X: 'The BBC should not be showing Kneecap propaganda.
'One Kneecap band member is currently on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act.
'As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism.'
Meanwhile in an interview with The Sun, Sir Keir was asked if he thought the trio should perform at Glastonbury, to which he replied: 'No, I don't, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this.
'This is about the threats that shouldn't be made, I won't say too much because there's a court case on, but I don't think that's appropriate.'
Glastonbury founder Sir Michael Eavis this week defended the decision to keep Kneecap in the line-up.
Asked if the festival still stands for something, Sir Michael told Glastonbury Free Press, the festival's resident newspaper: 'Oh heaven's above, yes, of course it does.
'And I think the people that come here are into all those things. People that don't agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else!'
Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English.
Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.
Elsewhere at the festival crowds were also a concern. Charli XCX tonight is expected to pull in a bigger crowd at the Other Stage which will exceed capacity after she was forced to play on the smaller stage than the Pyramid because her often provocative performances were unable to be broadcast on the BBC.
The Woodsies stage was shut in advance of Lorde's surprise set on Friday morning with festival bosses urging people to stand up off the floor to make room while others were squeezed out.
It comes after the Mail on Sunday published an account from a whistleblower at Glastonbury who raised the alarm on the overcrowding at the festival and said: 'It's a disaster waiting to happen.
'It's got to be a mixture of luck and a mixture of goodwill, the jewel in the UK's crown is actually something of a ticking time bomb.'
Last year saw Sugababes shut down West Holts while secret set Kasabian caused chaos at Woodsies – then there was Avril Lavigne whose fans flooded the Other Stage area.
'Worst-case scenario, people are going to die, I think we are going to have some massive issues this year.'
Glastonbury Festival responded and told Mailonline: 'As always, Glastonbury 2025 will have a robust, dynamic crowd management plan in place, with crowd safety paramount at the Festival.
'Our team works year-round on crowd management, which is at the forefront of all decisions and planning for the site and artist bookings.
'Our proactive crowd management team monitors data (including from the official Glastonbury app line-up planner) for information on potential act popularity for weeks in advance of the Festival and develops a comprehensive crowd management plan accordingly.
'At the Festival, our dedicated, 500-strong crowd management team is overseen by a team of world-leading experts and works closely with all relevant agencies and authorities, establishing plans and procedures against all possible outcomes, with detailed plans developed for certain areas and scenarios, even if the likelihood of them being used is very low.'
They added that their team 'utilises state-of-the-art crowd monitoring systems to ensure that at all times of day and night crowd safety is at the forefront of everyone's minds, with a far greater capacity to respond to issues than might be found in the rest of the sector.'