Manager of Irish rap group Kneecap has said the rap trio are “happy to meet” the daughter of murdered MP David Amess.
The Belfast group apologized to the families of Mr Amess and Labour MP Jo Cox in April after footage emerged from a gig allegedly showing a member saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
Katie Amess spoke on being “absolutely heartbroken” after seeing the resurfaced clip because it “brought back so much pain and upset”, and called for the group to “take full accountability” before being allowed to perform on stage.
She said she would be willing to meet the group and tell them how her life has been “obliterated” by her father’s death.
The group’s manager, Daniel Lambert, told The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk: “The lads are happy to meet with that lady. The lads are happy to apologise to that lady.”
Ms Amess urged for a “thorough investigation to determine the full extent of any criminal activity” and said it “is imperative that individuals and groups are held accountable for their words and actions that incite violence and hatred”.
Lambert suggested that the footage only emerged because the group criticism of Israel’s illegal settlement in Gaza during their performances at Coachella in the US.
He told the radio show: “You’ve got to focus on this. Why has this emerged? And I’ve said this on several radio shows already. Kneecap went to Coachella and Kneecap said at Coachella, facts. Facts about what happened (Gaza, Palestine).”
He further added: “And you know what happened as a response? All of this.”
Earlier in the week, Brendan Cox, widow to Ms Jo Cox who was murdered in 2016, called Kneecap’s statement “only half an apology”.
Counter-terrorism officers are investigating the footage from November 2023 as well as another piece of footage from November 2024 that appears to show one of them shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.
The group from West Belfast posted a statement online saying they’ve “never supported” Hamas or Hezbollah, which are both proscribed terror groups in the UK.
Jewish groups and MPs, as well as former X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne, have called for them to be dropped from the Glastonbury line-up, while Kneecap have claimed footage of the incident has been “exploited and weaponized”.
The group has seen some of their gigs cancelled, with their performance at the Eden Project in Cornwall axed and when it was moved to Plymouth Pavilions it was again scrapped.
Festivals in the Netherlands, Paradiso Festival in Amsterdam, and Czech Republic’s Rock for People have said they are assessing the situation.
