‘Up Hamas, up Hezbollah!’ I don’t know about you, but if I was at a gig and heard a band yelling that to the crowd of adoring fans, I’d assume that they quite liked Hamas and Hezbollah. Just like if I walked the streets screaming ‘Millwall!’ at people, you could reasonably infer that I was a fan.
This week, two pieces of compromising footage were unearthed showing members of the Belfast band Kneecap spouting the controversial bile for which they have become famous.
In one video, recorded in November last year, a member of the troupe is seen praising Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are proscribed terrorist groups under UK law, meaning that it is a crime to express support for them. The other recording comes from a Kneecap performance in November 2023, where a member of the band exclaims that ‘the only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP!’ This is particularly sickening when one thinks back to the murders of David Amess and Jo Cox.
In light of the footage, Kneecap is now being investigated for potential offences by counter terrorism police. In an unedifying attempt to cover their backs, the group released a statement this week apologising to the Amess and Cox families and ‘clarifying’ their position:
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.
Bearing in mind that the band is named after a torture method adopted by the IRA, you might have thought the members would be robust enough to stick their guns, so to speak. Apparently not. The group, due to play at Glastonbury later this year, has clearly decided that it has too much to lose.
That said, the Kneecap story is about more than just the band, or the legions of Gen Zs who attend their shows. The artistic establishment has also welcomed the boys from Belfast with open arms. The group scooped a Bafta last year for a biopic about their rise to stardom. Since the fallout over their videos, over 100 artists have signed a letter supporting them.
That a coterie of left-wing artists have come out in support of the group isn’t so surprising, or even egregious. In fact, I’d probably be more taken aback if our cultural elites didn’t go out to bat for terrorist sympathisers and those who call for the murder of Tory MPs.
Nor is it that Kneecap are denying having expressed sentiments that have been pretty clearly captured on film, and refuting having supported groups that they have smugly endorsed on social media.
No, what is so infuriating about Kneecap – besides that prat who wears the tricolour balaclava – is that it they have received money from the taxpayer to do this.
Last year, the band successfully challenged the government in court after Kemi Badenoch – then Secretary of State for Business and Trade – blocked a grant from the government-funded Music Export Growth Scheme.
Badenoch argued that, given the group’s vocal hatred for Britain, it would not be appropriate to use our money to raise its platform. Ultimately, after a hearing at the Belfast High Court, it was ruled that Kneecap had been discriminated against. They were given £14,250 – the value of the grant.
Even Labour now admit that it’s a bit rich to force taxpayers to fork out for a band who routinely disparage their own country (one of Kneecap’s hit tracks is ‘Get Your Brits Out’ – it’s funny because it’s both sectarian and rhymes with tits). The Prime Minister’s spokesperson has stated that the Government does not believe that ‘individuals expressing those views should be receiving government funding’.
While these words are welcome, it shouldn’t have taken this long. Prior to this week’s ‘revelations’, Kneecap had engaged in IRA apologism for years without reprisal. For that to be rewarded with a taxpayer-funded grant was an insult – particularly at a time when Britons are being squeezed by high taxes and bills.
From academic frivolity like the now-notorious study into the history of gay porn, to groups which actively undermine attempts to deliver government policy, our state has form when it comes to squandering our money on fashionable, high-status projects.
Infuriating though this is, the tide does seem to be turning. A cross-party consensus is emerging that the state does not exist to fund the latest political or social trend or abdicate its decision-making responsibilities to a new quango. Rather, its function is to act in the interests of the British people.
You might consider this a case of mountains and molehills. After all, Kneecap received less than £15,000 and besides, it’s good to support aspiring musicians. Sure. But discovering the next Beatles does not mean being, as far as I can tell, wholly unselective in deciding which group receives a golden ticket.
Perhaps the next time a government-funded body considers providing cash to an up-and-coming artist, it should – as a minimum – adopt ‘the Kneecap formula’: terrorist sympathies, plus calling for the deaths of MPs, equals no money. If they don’t, we’ll have more Kneecaps, and even more reason to lose faith in the state.
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