Kemi Badenoch says Kneecap should ‘feel full force of the law’ after band calls on concertgoers to ‘kill Tory MPs’

28 April 2025, 20:48 | Updated: 28 April 2025, 21:18

Kemi Badenoch has told LBC the Irish rap group Kneecap should feel "the full force of the law" after one of its members called for concert attendees to "kill Tory MPs".

The Conservative leader's comments comes after videos emerged online showing the band making the comments at a gig in November 2023.

In the controversial footage, singer Mo Chara can be heard shouting 'Up Hamas' and 'Up Hezbollah' during a gig at the O2 in Kentish Town.

The rapper appears to say to the crowd: "Free Palestine. Free the six counties. Tiocfaidh ár lá (Irish language for 'our day will come'). Up Hamas. Up Hezbollah."

They can also be heard allegedly telling the crowd: "The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”

Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism division is currently looking into the incident, as a growing number of politicians have called for the band's upcoming UK shows to be cancelled.

On Monday evening, the Conservative leader told Iain Dale that the hip hop trio should be prosecuted, adding she believes the group's "horrific lyrics promote violence".

'Incitement to violence'

Back in November, the group won their case against Badenoch after she blocked an arts grant to them.

The Tory leader told Iain it was "extraordinary" that Labour had previously "let them have the money" she had been seeking to block the band from receiving while she was business secretary.

She added: "So the court case had been lodged, and in between the court and in between the court case starting and finishing, this snap election was called so I didn't get to see it through.

"Labour come in and Johnny Reynolds, the new business and trade secretary, just gives them the money and says 'we're not fighting this court case,' they're going to have let them have the money.

Downing Street indicated there would be no further public funds directed towards Kneecap.

"And I just thought 'this is extraordinary.' This is how money is wasted across the board in government."

She then added: "Now, the band has been found to be promoting terrorism and also calling for Tory MPs specifically to be killed.

"This is a prosecutable offence, it's incitement to violence, incitement to murder.

She added: "But also, when you look at some of the people who were jailed for sending tweets after the Southport killings, and I'm not justifying what they said, but this is a much worse incident, and I think should face the full force of the law."

Read more: Kneecap could be pulled from major UK show after shouting 'pro-Hamas' chants at concert

Read more: Counter terror police investigate ‘pro-Hamas’ rap group Kneecap who were given £14k by government

DUP leader Gavin Robinson labelled the trio as as "appalling and outrageous".

"From my perspective, these gentlemen don’t need to be on a stage, they need to be in a courtroom because it is a hate crime what they are doing and it should be considered as such," Mr Robinson said.

“This isn’t a political perspective just from us, when you can see that there’s a collective political will in London and Dublin calling out, not only the need for them to clarify or apologise."

In a statement posted following their Coachella performance, the group said: "Since our statements at Coachella — exposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people — we have faced a coordinated smear campaign.

"For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments' complicity in war crimes.

"The recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods. We are taking action against several of these malicious efforts.

"Let us be absolutely clear.

"The reason Kneecap is being targeted is simple — we are telling the truth, and our audience is growing.

"Those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter. They weaponize false accusations of antisemitism to distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide.

"We do not give a f*ck what religion anyone practices. We know there are massive numbers of Jewish people outraged by this genocide just as we are.

"What we care about is that governments of the countries we perform in are enabling some of the most horrific crimes of our lifetimes — and we will not stay silent.

"No media spin will change this. Our only concern is the Palestinian people — the 20,000 murdered children and counting.

"The young people at our gigs see through the lies. They stand on the side of humanity and justice. And that gives us great hope."