Sir Keir Starmer said he did not believe Kneecap should be allowed to perform at Glastonbury Festival next week, after a member of the group was charged with a terrorism offence
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has voiced his opinion that Kneecap’s scheduled gig at Glastonbury Festival isn’t “appropriate”.
His remarks came after Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh faced court on Wednesday, charged with allegedly brandishing a flag supporting the banned terrorist group Hezbollah and chanting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” during a concert last November.
Talking to The Sun, Sir Keir was quizzed about whether the band should hit the stage at Glastonbury, after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called for the BBC not to show the set, to which he responded: “No, I don’t, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this.”
He added, “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.”The comments follow Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch’s assertion that the BBC “should not be showing” Kneecap’s set at the festival next week.
Mrs Badenoch slammed the decision in an X post, sharing a Times article that reported the BBC hadn’t blacklisted the group: “The BBC should not be showing Kneecap propaganda.”
She continued, “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.”
The Tory Leader of the Opposition has been vocal in the past about wanting to ban the group from Glastonbury, and last year Kneecap triumphed in a discrimination case against the UK Government at Belfast High Court after she attempted to block their £14,250 funding award during her time as a minister.
Kneecap took a swipe at Mrs Badenoch in their fresh track, The Recap, which dropped just ahead of their top-billed performance at London’s Wide Awake festival in May, with the tune poking fun at the politician’s efforts to stop their arts funding and the Tory Party’s election defeat.
On Wednesday, O hAnnaidh, known on stage as Mo Chara, was greeted by a throng of fans as he rocked up to Westminster Magistrates’ Court with bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, all donning “Free Mo Chara” tees.
In court, the prosecutor stated that the 27 year old is fully entitled to express his views on Israel and Palestine, but stressed that the incident in question at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, is an entirely separate matter.
O hAnnaidh was granted unconditional bail until his return to the same courtroom on August 20. Post-hearing, the rapper declared: “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.”
Following a counter-terrorism police probe, the band Kneecap faces charges after historical concert footage surfaced, allegedly showing them inciting violence against MPs.
In April, Kneecap issued an apology to the families of slain MPs but claimed that the video of the incident had been “exploited and weaponised”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
