Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said politicians should not try to censor artists after British prime minister Keir Starmer described Kneecap’s forthcoming performance at the Glastonbury festival as inappropriate.
Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, appeared in court on Wednesday charged, under UK anti-terrorism legislation, with showing support for a proscribed organisation.
It was alleged he draped himself in a Hizbullah flag at a London gig last November and shouted “up Hamas, up Hizbullah”, referring to the Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups respectively.
In an interview with The Sun, Mr Starmer said he did not think the Belfast rap trio should perform at Glastonbury.
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“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 said.
It comes after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said on X that she thought the BBC “should not be showing” Kneecap’s performance at the festival next week.
Kneecap’s official Instagram page shared a screenshot of the article containing Mr Starmer’s comments, stating that “arming a fu*king genocide” was what’s “not appropriate”.
In a comment underneath the post, Mr Varadkar said he had thought the comment from Mr Starmer was a “gag”.
“[I] no longer hold office nor have any mandate so my views don’t count for so much anymore. I get that. But I really thought this was some sort of gag. It’s the role of artists to be avant garde, inappropriate, challenging, disruptive - from James Joyce to Sex Pistols and Playboy,” he said.
“Politicians really should not try to censor this. If an offence was committed, let the courts decide. In the meantime, the rule of law says the accused is innocent until proven guilty.”
Mr Ó hAnnaidh was released on unconditional bail until his next hearing on August 20th.
He and his bandmates – Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh - arrived at the central London court to a scrum of hundreds of supporters who cheered as their vehicle pulled up outside it. The band were wearing “Free Mo Chara” T-shirts as they arrived.
Following the hearing, the rapper said: “For anybody going to Glastonbury, you can see us there at 4pm on the Saturday.
“If you can’t be there we’ll be on the BBC, if anybody watches the BBC. We’ll be at Wembley in September.” - Additional reporting Agencies
