A performance by Belfast rap trio Kneecap at the Eden Project has been cancelled.
It comes after a row in which one of the group appeared to call for Tory MPs to be killed and another appeared to shout “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” in historical footage of a gig.
A spokesperson for Eden Sessions, which organises the gigs at the Cornwall venue, said: “Eden Sessions Limited announced today that the Kneecap show at Eden Project scheduled for July 4, 2025 has been cancelled.
“Ticket purchasers will be contacted directly and will be fully refunded.
“The refund process will commence from Wednesday, April 30 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.”
On Monday, the band apologised to the families of murdered MPs Sir David Amess and Jo Cox after footage emerged of one of its members appearing to say “kill your local MP”.
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.
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“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 urged them to apologise, calling their statement “half-hearted”.
He said Downing Street “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.”
Katie Amess, the daughter of Sir David Amess, told the UK Tonight With Sarah-Jane Mee, she was happy to meet the band, as “I’m sure they’ve never met a victim of such a heinous crime, and so they’re not thinking it through.
“If they were to meet with me and to see and to hear the pain and the torture and the torment that I go through every day, I’m sure they would feel terribly guilty.”
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