Kneecap's presence at Glastonbury is 'inappropriate', says Keir Starmer

A contested presence. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly opposed Kneecap's concert at the Glastonbury Festival in an interview with The Sun on June 21. The Sun believes that the event, scheduled for June 28 in southwest England, is "inappropriate" given the ongoing legal proceedings against one of the members of the Irish rap group. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh appeared in court in London on June 18 for a "terrorist offense . " He is accused of waving a Hezbollah flag, considered a terrorist movement in the UK, during a London concert in November.

"These are threats that should not be made ," said Keir Starmer. "I won't elaborate too much on the matter because there is a case before the courts, but I don't think it's appropriate." The British Prime Minister, a member of the Labour Party, is following the line of his political opponents. Earlier in the day, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch asked the BBC in a social media post to "not show" the rappers' "propaganda" on television.

The BBC should not reward extremism

Kemi Badenoch

"A member of the band is currently on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act," she wrote in the rest of her message. She added: "As a publicly funded broadcaster, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism." The Conservative has already called for the concert to be banned. She also lost a discrimination case against British rappers last year after refusing them a £14,250 grant when she was a minister in Rishi Sunak's government. The band recently apologized after a video from 2023 appeared to show one of its members calling for the deaths of British Conservative MPs.

Decisions will be made closer to the festival

The BBC to the Guardian

For its part, the BBC told the Guardian that it "will offer its audience comprehensive musical coverage of the Glastonbury Festival, featuring artists selected by the organizers ." The channel added that it "will not ban any artists" and that the "programming will respect [its] editorial policy . " "Decisions will be made closer to the festival," the BBC continued.

Prominent defenders of the Palestinian cause, the Irish rappers denied any support for Hezbollah in court on June 18. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who is out on bail, said at a festival last May that the government was trying to "silence" him by canceling the group's concerts. The rapper received a standing ovation upon his arrival at Westminster Magistrates' Court. The other two members of the group wore T-shirts emblazoned with "Free Mo Chara," his stage name. He wore a Palestinian keffiyeh over his shoulders.

Also read: Rappers from the group Kneecap claim to have "never supported Hamas or Hezbollah"

On that day, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh invited his fans to the Glastonbury Festival. "For anyone who's going, you can catch us there on Saturday at 4 p.m. ," he said. "If you can't be there, we'll be on the BBC, if anyone watches the BBC. We'll also be at Wembley in September." The Belfast trio also invited their fans to the cinema. The rappers are currently the subject of a docudrama chronicling their rise to fame .