Welsh Tory calls for rap trio Kneecap to be dropped from festival line-up

South Wales Guardian

22-05-2025

Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged after allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, on November 21 last year.
Hezbollah is banned in the UK and it is a crime to express support for them.
Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservative Party, has demanded the band be axed from the Green Man line-up, saying keeping them 'risks endorsing extremism.'
Kneecap is due to play the arts and music festival, held near Crickhowell, Powys, on August 14.
The rap trio has branded the charge as 'political policing' and a 'carnival of distraction'.
The organisers of the Green Man have been approached for comment.
It is the second time the Conservatives have called for Kneecap to be pulled from the festival.
Gareth Davies MS, shadow member for culture, wrote to Green Man last month after a video from November 2023 emerged, appearing to show a person from the band saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.'
Mr Millar said: 'It's completely unacceptable that the Green Man Festival has yet to respond to my colleague's request for Kneecap to be removed from the line-up, their silence speaks volumes.
'This is a group that has openly called for the killing of MPs, and now one of its members faces serious terror-related charges linked to a proscribed organisation.
'The festival previously acted swiftly to drop Meic Stevens over anti-Muslim remarks, yet they seem prepared to turn a blind eye in this far more serious case.
'Green Man must be consistent in its values and withdraw Kneecap from the programme immediately. Anything less undermines the festival's credibility and risks endorsing extremism.'
Mr Stevens was removed from the 2019 line-up after making a comment about the number of Muslims there were on a bus. He denied that his language was racist.
O hAnnaidh, 27, of Belfast, was charged by postal requisition and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 18, the Metropolitan Police have said.
In a statement on X, Kneecao said: 'We deny this 'offence' and will vehemently defend ourselves, this is political policing, this is a carnival of distraction.
'We are not the story, genocide is, as they profit from genocide, they use an 'anti-terror law' against us for displaying a flag thrown on stage. A charge not serious enough to even warrant their crown court, instead a court that doesn't have a jury. What's the objective?
'To restrict our ability to travel. To prevent us speaking to young people across the world. To silence voices of compassion. To prosecute artists who dare speak out.
'Instead of defending innocent people, or the principles of international law they claim to uphold, the powerful in Britain have abetted slaughter and famine in Gaza, just as they did in Ireland for centuries. Then, like now, they claim justification.'
Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police said Kneecap are being investigated by counter-terrorism police after videos emerged allegedly showing the band calling for the deaths of MPs.
The Belfast rap trio have had gigs cancelled after the footage emerged but are still listed to headline Friday's Wide Awake Festival in Brixton's Brockwell Park.
The group apologised last month to the families of murdered MPs but said footage of the incident had been 'exploited and weaponised'.