Kneecap accuse UK government of enabling genocide and brand Israel 'war criminals' during Glastonbury performance the BBC wouldn't show
Kneecap accused the UK government of “enabling genocide” and branded Israel “war criminals” during their Glastonbury set – and appeared to invite thousands to riot outside their next court date, it has been reported.
The BBC refused to show their performance live, but according to the Mirror and footage seen on social media, the controversy-courting act finished their set by displaying a banner marked “the British government is enabling genocide” on a huge screen behind them.
Amid many foul-mouthed on-stage comments on the conflict in Gaza, they led a crowd of around 30,000 people in a chant of “Free, Free Palestine” – and rapper Liam O hAnnaidh, currently facing a terror charge, stated: “There’s no f---ing hiding it, Israel are war criminals.”
The band pledged to support Palestine Action, an organisation likely to be banned after breaking into an RAF base and vandalising planes. On stage, DJ Provai – alias 37-year-old J.J. O Dochartaigh – sported a T-shirt featuring the group’s logo.
Kneecap went on to apparently invite the crowd to riot outside the next appearance of 27-year-old O hAnnaidh, aka Mo Chara, at Westminster Magistrates Court, where he’s facing a charge of supporting a proscribed organisation due to actions and comments he’s alleged to have made on-stage in London seven months ago.
Referring to the case, for which a full trial has not taken place, rapper Naoise O Caireallain (31) told the crowd: “It’s not the first time there has been a miscarriage of justice for an Irish person in the British justice system.
“So, if anyone is available on 20th August at Westminster we will go to support Mo Chara, we will start a riot outside the courts.”
O Caireallain, aka Moglai Bap, later backtracked, telling the crowd: “I have to make a disclaimer; when we go to support Mo Chara, I don’t want anybody to start a riot.
"No riots, just love and support.”
They also took pains to point out how much they like English people – directly after performing a song that has become a republican anthem, ‘Get Your Brits Out’, which takes swipes at DUP figures amid copious drug references.
Stating they “love the English people, just not the English government”, they also thanked Glastonbury organisers for having them.
The BBC refused to livestream the set, though spokespeople said it would “look to make an on-demand version available” on iPlayer.
Kneecap mocked the broadcaster both before and during their performance, describing it as “the propaganda wing of the regime” on social media early in the afternoon, and – seeming to accept their show will be heavily cut when it winds up on iPlayer – stating “the BBC will have some job editing” their anti-Israel and pro-Palestine comments.
The crowd, many of who waved Palestine flags or sported versions of the band’s trademark tricolour balaclava in the festival’s 26°C heat, chanted along when the trio called on them to swear about Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who last week said it would be not appropriate for Kneecap to perform.
Despite their pro-Palestine words at Glastonbury, last year the group angered many left-wing fans when they broke a boycott to play an English festival sponsored by a company with financial ties to arms manufacturers suppling Israel’s military.
Half of the acts booked for the Great Escape in May 2024 pulled out in protest of that sponsor, but Kneecap performed anyway, leading to accusations of hypocrisy. The rappers said they had to play as they’re a “working band” while dismissing their critics as middle-class.