Kneecap may face investigation from counter-terrorism police over allegedly calling for the death of British MPs.
The Belfast rap trio, who have sparked controversy last week over footage seemingly showing them voicing support for Hamas in November 2024, have also been referred to the Counter Terrorism Referral Unit (CTIRU) over the alleged incident a year earlier.
Footage from the November 2023 gig appears to show a member of the band saying: ‘The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.’
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said it is ‘good’ the police are looking into the allegation, saying: ‘Kneecap’s glorification of terrorism and anti-British hatred has no place in our society.’
She added: ‘After the murder of Sir David Amess, this demands prosecution.’
A Metropolitan police spokesman said: ‘We were made aware of a video on April 22, believed to be from an event in November 2024, and it has been referred to the counter-terrorism internet referral unit for assessment and to determine whether any further police investigation may be required.
‘We have also been made aware of another video believed to be from an event in November 2023.’
Here are the band’s most high profile controversies.
Pro-Hamas chants at a concert
Earlier last week, footage from a November 2024 performance at the Kentish Forum in London appeared to show a member of the band shouting ‘Up Hamas, up Hezbollah’, with a Hezbollah flag on display.
They also appeared to lead the crowd in a chant of ‘ooh ahh Hezbollah’.
In the UK, Hamas and Hezbollah are banned, while it’s a crime to express support for them under the Terrorism Act 2000.
‘F*** Israel, free Palestine’ slogans at Coachella
Kneecap performed during the second weekend of Coachella and continued their vocal support for Palestine at the show.
A projection with three messages read: ‘Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people’, ‘It is being enabled by the US government, who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes,’ and ‘F*** Israel. Free Palestine.’
Crowds of people joined them to chant ‘Free, free Palestine’, and the ensuing backlash led to several death threats sent to the group, as revealed by Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert.
The band has since doubled down on the display in an official statement claiming they are the targets of a ‘coordinated smear campaign’.
The social media post added: ‘For over a year we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments’ complicity in war crimes.
‘The recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods. We are taking action against several of these malicious efforts.’
Celebrating Margaret Thatcher’s death at Coachella
Also at Coachella, during their first performance on April 11, the group turned their attention to former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
The group, who have called for a united Ireland and been outspoken against the UK, urged the crowd to sing ‘Maggie’s in a Box’ in a parody of KC and the Sunshine Band classic Give It Up.
The chant was omitted from the festival’s livestream.
King George statue’s ‘missing head’ appears on stage at Melbourne gig
Police had investigated how a missing head from a historic King George V statue ended up on stage with Kneecap in Australia.
During their show in Melbourne, the Royal Family was booed as the head was unveiled, while one band member quipped: ‘He’s the first royal at a Kneecap gig, and will be the last’.
The head had been missing for nine months, with authorities struggling to track it down after it was removed in June 2024.
No arrests have been made, and a police spokesman said: ‘Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives continue to investigate damage to a statue in Kings Domain last year.
‘Investigators are also aware that the head from what appears to be a statue appeared at a concert in Melbourne on March 14.’
Discrimination case over grant supporting UK artists
The former Conservative government blocked Kneecap from receiving a grant aimed at supporting UK artists.
The group’s application was successful, but the Department of Business and Trade – which was then led by now-Tory leader Kemi Badenoch – opposed the idea of giving taxpayers’ money to people who ‘oppose the United Kingdom itself’.
The trio successfully took legal action against the UK government on the grounds of discrimination.
In November 2024, they won £14,250 – which was the amount of the original grant – and subsequently donated it to two Belfast youth organisations in a nationalist and unionist area.
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