Prime Minister weighs in on Kneecap row over Glastonbury show
Prime Minister weighs in on Kneecap row over Glastonbury show
Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh appeared in court this week charged with displaying a flag in support of a proscribed organisation
Kneecap's Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court in London
(Image: PA )
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he does not think rap group Kneecap's planned Glastonbury Festival performance is 'appropriate'. He made the comments after one of the trio, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, appeared in court this week charged with displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah during a gig last November.
In an interview with The Sun, Sir Keir was asked if he thought the band should perform at the festival. 'No, I don't, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this,' he replied.
Adding: '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.'
On Wednesday the west Belfast rapper (whose stage name is Mo Chara) was cheered by hundreds of supporters bearing "Free Speech, Free Palestine" flags as he arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court with bandmates Naoise Ó Cairealláin and J. J. Ó Dochartaigh.
Ó hAnnaidh's defence team argued that the charge, which was brought on May 22, was outside the six-month window required to fall under the court's jurisdiction. Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring adjourned the case to August to hear arguments on whether the court has jurisdiction.
The rapper, known for songs including Get Your Brits Out, has been released on unconditional bail and Kneecap are scheduled to perform at 4pm next Saturday on Glastonbury Festival's West Holts stage at Worthy Farm in Somerset.
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The Times reports that the BBC will not show the set live on one of its main TV channels, instead featuring pop star Jade, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile and rock band Weezer who will be performing at the same time. But, according to the newspaper, Kneecap's hour-long performance is expected to be made available on demand afterwards via BBC iPlayer.
BBC bosses are said by the Times to be "weighing up" whether to stream the show live on one of the five dedicated iPlayer channels being set up to support the event.
The members of Kneecap
(Image: Getty Images for BFI )
The footage from the gig in which Ó hAnnaidh is alleged to have displayed an illegal flag was circulated online in the days following a Kneecap performance at US music festival Coachella, where the band repeatedly accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people.
Last month more than 100 Welsh musicians including Adwaith, Gruff Rhys and Gwenno issued a joint statement in solidarity with the group. 'Kneecap is not the story, the story is the slaughter in Gaza,' they said.
This came after a show of solidarity from musicians such as Paul Weller, Primal Scream, Pulp, the Pogues, Massive Attack, Fontaines DC, Thin Lizzy and Yard Act. "Genocide is the story," they said. "And the silence, acquiescence and support of those crimes against humanity by the elected British Government is the real story.
"Solidarity with all artists with the moral courage to speak out against Israeli war crimes, and the ongoing persecution and slaughter of the Palestinian people."
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the BBC 'should not be showing' Kneecap's performance at Glastonbury, adding: 'As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism.'
Last year Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK Government in Belfast High Court after Ms Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was a minister. The band split the grant between two Belfast youth organisations, Irish language group Glór Na Móna and Shankill Road's R-City.
Following this week's court hearing, Ó hAnnaidh said: 'For anybody going to Glastonbury, you can see us there at 4pm on the Saturday. If you can't be there we'll be on the BBC, if anybody watches the BBC. We'll be at Wembley in September. But most importantly: free, free Palestine.'
Kneecap denies supporting Hezbollah. In their initial statement responding to the charge, the band said: '14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us. We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves, this is political policing, this is a carnival of distraction.'
The Israeli military has bombed large swathes of Gaza in response to a Hamas-led attack in October 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Gaza's health ministry has since said that Israel's attacks have killed at least 55,637 people.
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