The UK’s Counter Terror Police has confirmed that it will investigate anti-Israel band Kneecap over comments made by members of the Northern Irish rap trio.
Videos from two separate concerts, one in 2023 and another in 2024, have circulated on social media showing members of the group making offensive statements. In the former, one bandmember said “the only Tory is a dead Tory” and told the the crowd: “kill your local MP”.
The latter saw another draped in a Hezbollah flag while shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”. Both groups are proscribed under the Terrorism Act, making inviting support for them a criminal offence.
The statements prompted widespread condemnation, including from the government and across the House of Commons, and calls for an investigation.
Last week, the Metropolitan Police announced that it had referred the clips to its counter-terrorism unit to review and decide whether a formal probe was warranted. The force has now confirmed that the clips met the threshold required to launch a formal investigation.
For their part, the rap trio has issued a statement denying any criminality and apologising to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, while also accusing the “establishment” of operating a “smear campaign” against them.
The band’s statement read: “They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide.
“Establishment figures, desperate to silence us, have combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, extracting a handful of words from months or years ago to manufacture moral hysteria.
“Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation's history.
“We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.”
It went on: “To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt.
“Kneecap’s message has always been — and remains — one of love, inclusion, and hope. This is why our music resonates across generations, countries, classes and cultures and has brought hundreds of thousands of people to our gigs. No smear campaign will change that.”
The videos under investigation resurfaced online after the band grabbed headlines for projecting the slogan “f*** Israel, free Palestine” above its set at the Coachella music festival in California, during which it accused Israel of genocide.
The performance, and subsequent emergence of the historic clips, led to calls from a number of famous names, including Sharon Osbourne, for the US to revoke Kneecap’s visas. A decision regarding the band’s immigration status is yet to be confirmed.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “Both videos were referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment by specialist officers, who have determined there are grounds for further investigation into potential offences linked to both videos.
"The investigation is now being carried out by officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command and inquiries remain ongoing at this time."
