Controversial rap group Kneecap has denied supporting Hamas or Hezbollah and said they "condemn all attacks on civilians" following public backlash over footage from two of their concerts currently under review by counter-terror police.
In a statement released Monday night, the Northern Irish group said: “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.”
The trio – Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap from Belfast, and DJ Próvaí from Londonderry – were responding after footage from two separate events drew condemnation and triggered a police enquiry.
In a video from a November 2023 performance, a member of the group said “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”. In a second clip, reportedly filmed at London’s Kentish Town Forum in November 2024, a band member was heard shouting: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” Both groups are proscribed terrorist organisations in the UK, and inviting support for them is a criminal offence.
The remarks sparked widespread condemnation, including from the government and Leader of the Opposition. Conservative MP Mark Francois has asked the Home Secretary to make a statement in the House of Commons laying out what the Home Office “intends to do about” the group.
The band, though, claimed they are facing a "co-ordinated smear campaign" due to their vocal support for Palestinians. “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,” they said.
It also apologised to the families of murdered MPs Sir David Amess and Jo Cox, saying “We never intended to cause you hurt.”
Katie Amess, daughter of Sir David Amess, told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster: “It is just beyond belief that human beings would speak like that in this day and age, and it is extremely dangerous.”
Kneecap responded on social media: “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.”
The controversy follows the band’s set at the Coachella music festival in California earlier this month, where they led chants of “Free, free Palestine” and displayed messages on screen, including: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”
