Controversial rap group Kneecap have Cornwall gig CANCELLED
The Irish band have been criticised for political messaging at events
Additional reporting by David Hughes and Caitlin Doherty, PA
A show in Cornwall by controversial rap group Kneecap, scheduled to take place this summer, has been cancelled by organisers.
The Belfast band were due to be part of the Eden Sessions on July 4th.
An Eden Sessions Limited spokesperson said:
“Eden Sessions Limited announced today that the Kneecap show at Eden Project scheduled for 4th July 2025 has been cancelled.
"Ticket purchasers will be contacted directly and will be fully refunded. The refund process will commence from Wednesday 30th April 2025. Refunds will be processed against the original payment cards used. Purchasers should allow six working days for funds to be received into their accounts.”
The group's come in for criticism after footage emerged from 2023, in which one member appears to urge people to 'kill Tory MPs'.
The band's apologised to the families of murdered politicians Jo Cox and Sir David Amess - saying they never intended to cause them hurt.
The Metropolitan Police is assessing the footage, along with a video clip from another concert in November 2024 in which a member of the band appeared to shout "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" - groups which are banned as terrorist organisations in the UK.
In a statement posted on Instagram, the group, comprising Liam Og O Hannaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, said they "reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual".
"Kneecap's message has always been - and remains - one of love, inclusion, and hope. This is why our music resonates across generations, countries, classes and cultures and has brought hundreds of thousands of people to our gigs. No smear campaign will change that," they added.
They said they have "never supported" Hamas or Hezbollah.
But the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "They should apologise. I think you have seen what they have said, I think it is half-hearted.
"We completely reject in the strongest possible terms the comments that they've made, particularly in relation to MPs and intimidation as well as obviously the situation in the Middle East.
"It's right that the police are looking into these videos."
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: "I think they're apologising because they realise that people don't like the kind of things that they've been saying.
"They're apologising because they're worried they're going to lose their slot at Glastonbury. No-one who promotes the killing of politicians should have a prime place in Glastonbury."
Ministers also put pressure on the organisers of the Glastonbury Festival over the band's inclusion in the line-up.
In the Commons, security minister Dan Jarvis said: "It's not for Government ministers to say who is going to appear at Glastonbury, it's for the organisers of the festival.
"But there is ... an ongoing, live police investigation, so the Government would urge organisers of the Glastonbury Festival to think very carefully about who is invited to perform there later this year."