Keir Starmer claims Kneecap appearance at Glastonbury "is not appropriate"
In response, Kneecap claimed the Prime Minister's "arming of a genocide" is inappropriate
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has claimed that Kneecap's upcoming appearance at Glastonbury Festival isn't "appropriate" after member Mo Chara was charged with a terror offence.
The PM made the comments during an interview with The Sun published on Saturday (June 21). When asked if the Irish rap trio should perform at this week's festival in Somerset, Starmer responded: "No, I don’t, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this.”
“This is about the threats that shouldn’t be made, I won’t say too much because there’s a court case on, but I don’t think that’s appropriate,” he added.
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Mo Chara, real name is Liam Ó hAnnaidh, was granted unconditional bail during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court last week after he was accused of allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag during a gig at the O2 in Kentish Town in November 2024.
Chara has claimed that the charges are part of a "witch hunt" against him and Kneecap due to the group's support of Palestine; several UK political leaders have called for the trio to be removed from various festival line-ups — including Glastonbury.
In response to Starmer's comments, Kneecap posted a screenshot of his interview on Instagram along with the caption: "You know what's “not appropriate” Keir?! Arming a fucking genocide... Fuck The Sun and solidarity with @palestine action."
Read this next: Kneecap's Mo Chara granted unconditional bail following court appearance over terrorism charge
Despite this, Glastonbury confirmed last month that Kneecap would be performing on the West Holts stage on Saturday (June 28), a main stage that will feature in the BBC's broadcast live from the festival.
The BBC later confirmed that "it will not be ban" Kneecap from its broadcast, however it would “ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our broadcast output will be made in the lead-up to the festival.”
Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter