Kneecap at Glastonbury: Outrageous BBC would even consider broadcasting Belfast rappers after axing Twelfth live coverage, says TUV's Jim Allister
It is “frankly outrageous the BBC would even consider” televising Kneecap’s performance at the Glastonbury Festival, TUV leader Jim Allister has said.
And the North Antrim MP argues that’s particularly the case since the public broadcaster recently axed its usual live coverage of Twelfth parades, arguing the corporation should not “use licence-payers’ money to promote” a band he describes as “hostile to the British identity” while simultaneously dropping the UK’s “largest celebration of British culture”.
“The BBC must get serious about its public service obligations,” he said, suggesting its “credibility is already in steep decline” and giving the group a platform would only increase the public’s mistrust in the corporation.
During a storm of controversy after a video clip emerged of what appeared to be a member of Kneecap saying “the only good Tory is a dead Tory, kill your local MP” during a gig in London, Mr Allister was one of several politicians to write to Glastonbury organisers calling on them to drop the rap trio from a planned set at this year’s festival.
The band apologised to the families of two murdered English MPs, though claimed the clip had been “weaponised and exploited”.
This week Glastonbury confirmed Kneecap will be appearing on its third largest stage, in a mid-afternoon slot on its second day.
That’s a substantial promotion on last year’s festival, when they were on first thing in the morning. The group were far too low on the bill to feature in the BBC’s extensive coverage of that event, but their newly prominent slot opens the possibility of Kneecap making it to the nation’s screens.
As the News Letter revealed this week, the BBC hasn’t made up its mind yet, stating that while it doesn’t ban artists, programming “will meet editorial guidelines” and plans for covering Glastonbury are still being worked out.
From Mr Allister’s perspective, the decision should be a no-brainer – the rappers should be kept out of the country’s living rooms, and off both broadcast channels and iPlayer streams.
“It is frankly outrageous that the BBC would even consider offering Kneecap exposure on publicly funded services,” he told the News Letter.
“This is the same organisation that consistently refuses to provide even a minute of live coverage for the Twelfth of July, the largest celebration of British culture anywhere in the United Kingdom, despite one of the main parades passing directly in front of its Belfast headquarters.
“The BBC must get serious about its public service obligations. Its credibility is already in sharp decline, and the decision to use licence fee payers’ money to promote a group openly hostile to British identity, and deeply offensive to innocent victims of terrorism, will only deepen public mistrust.”
The broadcaster axed all live coverage of Twelfth parades three years ago, dropping it in favour of an evening highlights show just as the event made its big comeback from Covid.
The BBC has indicated Kneecap’s Glastonbury set could appear on a delayed broadcast, which would allow it to trim contentious language.
The group could also be relegated to one or two numbers in a highlights round-up – for example, ‘Sick In The Head’, a wry look at mental health, features little explicit language, no real politics and no provocative statements, making it a safe choice for broadcast.