Brendan Cox, the husband of the murdered MP Jo Cox, has said the Irish rap trio Kneecap have offered only “half an apology”, after criticism of comments in which they appear to call for politicians to be killed.
Kneecap apologised to Jo Cox’s family and that of the MP David Amess, who was also murdered, in the face of mounting criticism, including from Downing Street and Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader.
Cox’s remarks come after a video emerged from a November 2023 gig appearing to show a member of the Belfast group saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” The group have also denied allegations they have shown support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
Overnight on Monday, Kneecap – Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh – posted an apology on X and suggested the condemnation had been an “effort to derail the real conversation” about Gaza.
The band have previously claimed they are facing a “coordinated smear campaign” after speaking out about “the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people”.
“To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt,” they said in the 500-word statement. They went on: “Establishment figures, desperate to silence us, have combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, extracting a handful of words from months or years ago to manufacture moral hysteria.”
During an urgent question about the band in the Commons on Tuesday, the Home Office minister Dan Jarvis urged the organisers of June’s Glastonbury festival to “think very carefully” about whether Kneecap should perform there.
During the exchanges, which involved Mark Francois, the Conservative MP who asked the question, referring to the band as “despicable evil”, Jarvis seemingly agreed with another Labour MP who suggested Kneecap’s music should be removed from platforms such as iTunes and Spotify.
Cox told BBC Radio Ulster’s Talkback programme that Kneecap’s most recent statement was only “half an apology”.
“It’s fine to say that you’re sorry for it, but the way that they have actually spoken about it is to suggest that it’s a conspiracy, that they have been targeted unfairly, and for me, that then doesn’t come across as unfortunately particularly genuine,” he said.
Jo Cox was killed in June 2016 by a far-right extremist.
Kneecap said in their most recent statement they “do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah”.
They added: “We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action. This distortion is not only absurd – it is a transparent effort to derail the real conversation.”
Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson said on Monday the prime minister believed the band’s comments were “completely unacceptable” and that he “condemns them in the strongest possible terms”.
Katie Amess, whose father, David Amess, was murdered by an Islamic State fanatic in his Southend West constituency, said she was “gobsmacked at the stupidity of somebody or a group of people being in the public eye and saying such dangerous, violent rhetoric”, and demanded an apology.
Scotland Yard is reportedly looking into the alleged call to kill MPs, along with another concert from November 2024 in which a member of the band appeared to shout: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah” – groups that are banned as terrorist organisations in the UK.
Source: theguardian.com
