Counter-terrorism police have taken over the probe into online videos appearing to show controversial Northern Irish rap band Kneecap shouting support for Hamas and Hezbollah. The Metropolitan Police said, amid allegations of footage of the trio appearing to show its members calling for the death of British MPs and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

In a statement the force said: “On 22 April, we were made aware of an online video believed to be from a music event in London in November 2024. Following this, we were made aware of a further video, believed to be from another music event in London in November 2023. “Both videos were referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment by specialist officers, who have determined there are grounds for further investigation into potential offences linked to both videos. “The investigation is now being carried out by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command and enquiries remain ongoing at this time.”

In a statement posted on Instagram, the group, comprising Liam Og O Hannaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, addressed the families of Sir David Amess and Jo Cox saying "we never intended to cause you hurt", and that they "reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual".
 

The move comes after the band were axed from the lineup of the Eden Project concert series.

The Belfast-formed band have denied inciting violence and said the clip was "deliberately taken out of context", as they sent their "heartfelt apologies" to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox and David Amess.

But a spokesperson for Eden Sessions, which organises the concerts at the Cornwall venue, said: "Eden Sessions Limited announced today that the Kneecap show at Eden Project scheduled for 4 July 2025 has been cancelled.

"Ticket purchasers will be contacted directly and will be fully refunded ... 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 cancellation comes as ministers raised questions on Tuesday over Kneecap's scheduled Glastonbury performance next month.

Security minister Dan Jarvis said: "It is not for government ministers to say who is going to appear at Glastonbury, it's for the organisers of the festival. But there is, as I have said, an ongoing live police investigation, so the government would urge the organisers at the Glastonbury Festival to think very carefully about who is invited to perform there later this year."

Conservative former minister Mark Francois claimed it would be “unconscionable” for Kneecap's performance at Worthy Farm to go ahead, saying they “should surely be barred today”.

In a statement posted to Instagram this week, the group comprising Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (aka Mo Chara), Naoise Ó Cairealláin (Móglaí Bap) and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvaí) said they rejected “any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against anyMP or individual”.

They added: “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.”

Footage from their past shows - including one in November 2023 that appeared to show one member saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP” - had been “exploited and weaponised as if it were a call to action”, they said.

Another clip of footage from a November 2024 concert appeared to show a Kneecap member shouting: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”

Both groups are banned in the UK as terrorist organisations.

Meanwhile British band Massive Attack today defended Kneecap after one of the rap group's members appeared to call for Tory MPs to be killed.
A statement on Massive Attack's Instagram account on Wednesday said: "Language matters of course. The hideous murders of elected politicians Jo Cox and David Amess means there's no scope for flippancy or recklessness."
It said politicians are "strategically concocting moral outrage over the stage utterings of a young punk band" while ignoring a "genocide" in Gaza.
The statement added: "Kneecap are not the story. Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story.
"And the silence, acquiescence and support of those crimes against humanity by the elected British government is the real story.
"Solidarity with all artists with the moral courage to speak out against Israeli war crimes, and the ongoing persecution and slaughter of the Palestinian people."

Katie Amess, daughter of David, who was stabbed to death in 2021, rejected the band's apology.

She said: “It was absurd, that's not an apology. It's deflection, it's not taking accountability, it's making excuses. These words that they are using are extremely dangerous and they have not acknowledged that.”

Brendan Cox, whose wife Jo Cox was murdered in 2016, said Kneecap's statement of regret on Monday was “only half an apology” and lacked genuine reflection.

He added: “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.

“The apology that they've given, I don't think has grappled enough with the gravity of what they said," he added. "It wasn't a throwaway remark - it was a very clear incitement to violence.”

Downing Street also accused the apology to the MPs' families of being “half-hearted”.

“We completely reject in the strongest possible terms the comments that they've made, particularly in relationship to MPs and intimidation as well as obviously the situation in the Middle East,” the prime minister's official spokesperson said. “It's right that the police are looking into these videos.”

Kneecap caused additional controversy at Coachella Festival last month after displaying messages that read: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people”; “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes”; and "F**k Israel. Free Palestine".

In a statement last week, the band called out what they branded a “coordinated smear campaign” over their stance on Israel and Palestine, criticism of which they said was based on “deliberate distortions and falsehoods”.