Terror police investigate ‘pro-Hamas’ rappers handed £14k by Labour

From the Telegraph

An Irish Republican rap group handed public funding by Labour has been referred to counter-terrorism police over pro-Hamas chants.

The controversial band Kneecap used its Easter weekend slot at Coachella Festival in California to project a slogan stating “f— Israel Free Palestine”.

Footage also emerged earlier this week from a 2024 gig during which one band member appears to shout “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” while draped in the terror organisation’s flag.

The Metropolitan Police has now referred the footage of Kneecap to a counter-terrorism unit to assess whether the material breaks UK terrorism laws. . . Both Hamas and Hezbollah are proscribed terror organisations, and it is an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 to “invite support for a proscribed organisation

The band is set to play at Glastonbury this year but has faced fierce criticism for its views.

Despite their pro-Republican views, in 2023 the band applied for £14,250 of British taxpayer funding through the Music Export Growth Scheme, intended to support UK acts in international markets.

Mrs Badenoch, the then-business secretary, blocked the application but Labour subsequently chose not to contest a legal battle, allowing a £14,250 payment. Having won the battle over the UK taxpayer funding, Kneecap declared in a social media post that they were “in opposition to the United Kingdom”.

In a post on X, Mrs Badenoch called on Labour to “apologise for rolling over” in the legal case.

Kneecap was formed in Belfast in the 2010s, and took their name from the notorious punishment used by IRA paramilitaries: shooting the kneecap of political opponents.

The band comprises Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, who raps under the name Móglaí Bap, and J.J. Ó Dochartaigh, who uses the stage name DJ Próvaí. The latter is usually seen wearing a balaclava in the colours of Irish tricolor, and imagery evocative of Troubles-era terrorism and civil strife has become a hallmark of the group who are “unapologetically in support of a united Ireland”.

At …Coachella… the band unveiled a projected slogans saying “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people” and “F*** Israel. Free Palestine”.

The band claimed that an earlier attempt to project the messages had been blocked by Coachella festival organisers.

Their anti-Israel messaging, at such a high-profile US event, provoked anger and calls for the band to be ejected from the country