English venue axes Kneecap movie screening amid terror probe into comments - meanwhile Glasgow council to debate 'smear campaign'
A venue in England has cancelled the showing of Kneecap’s autobiographical film amid an investigation into the group by counter-terror police.
Storyhouse in Chester was due to show the movie as part of its Moonlight Flicks in the Park series at Grosvenor Park on July 13.
Whilst a number of venues have cancelled upcoming live performances by the group, such as the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Hurricane festival in Germany, this is the first time a cancellation of their pre-recorded film has reached the headlines.
The group is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police over two videos which surfaced last month.
One depicts the crowd at one of their London gigs being told: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
The other shows member Mo Chara wrapped in a Hezbollah flag shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.
The videos were unearthed after the group played the Coachella festival in the USA and displayed the message “F**K ISRAEL” on the stage.
Councillor Adrian Waddelove, Conservative group leader at Cheshire West and Chester Council, had written to Storyhouse and urged it to pull the film.
In his letter, he wrote that neither Storyhouse “nor any other organisation in this borough should be providing a platform or legitimacy to a group which has openly incited violence against elected representatives and which seems to support terrorist organisations”.
He added: “Storyhouse is also heavily subsidised by Cheshire West and Chester Council and I believe many local Council taxpayers would be shocked to understand that their money is being used to give Kneecap a platform in Chester.”
The group Kneecap themselves have been subsidised by UK taxpayers directly; their self-titled movie, released last summer, was made using £1.6m of public money.
Confirming the decision to pull the film, a spokeswomen for Storehouse said: “This decision follows comments made by a member of the group that have recently come to light which allude to violence against MPs.
"We are committed to free expression and critical debate but also to the safety, dignity, and respect of all communities. ”
In response to the wider issue, the band has denied on social media that they would encourage violence against people, adding that they “do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah”.
But the group also said they have “faced a co-ordinated smear campaign” due to their support of Palestine.
Meanwhile, Glasgow City Council is due to debate the Kneecap controversy tomorrow.
Jon Molyneux, the council’s Green Party leader, will invite councillors to “express concern” about “the reaction to Irish musical act Kneecap's performance at California's Coachella Music Festival and the resulting smear campaign, which has included calls by politicians for Kneecap to be removed from this year's TRNSMT festival on Glasgow Green”.
His motion goes on to state: “Council considers this reaction is a direct result of Kneecap's outspoken support for Palestine and should not be indulged.”
Today, another open letter of support for Kneecap began circulating – this time from over 100 Welsh artists.
It is written in Welsh, and according to the website Nation.cymru it states: “Kneecap is not the story, the story is the slaughter in Gaza.”
It followed a similar open letter two weeks ago from international artists condemning "a concerted attempt to censor and ultimately deplatform the group".