John Swinney: Kneecap playing TRNSMT would be ‘unacceptable’

It would be “unacceptable” for Kneecap to play the TRSNMT musical festival, John Swinney has said.  

The comments come after videos emerged of the Irish rap group allegedly calling for their fans to “kill your local MP”, alongside a clip from a gig in 2023 where the trio said: “the only good Tory is a dead Tory”. 

The group are well known for their political views, recently displaying a banner reading “free Palestine, f*** Israel” at the Coachella Festival. 

Asked about the group’s comments by journalists, first minister said: “The language that you have put to me is completely and utterly unacceptable. 

“There is no way that is acceptable in a debate about free speech - it's completely beyond the pale. 

“I think that makes it incredibly difficult for a band like Kneecap to perform at TRNSMT, I think they have crossed a line to be honest. 

“It would be unacceptable, for me, for the band to perform on such a stage given that their comments are so far beyond the pale.” 

Kneecap is set to play TRSNMT on 11 July in Glasgow, but Tory MSPs have urged that the bands performance is cancelled and labelled their comments as “poison”. 

Stephen Kerr said: “Glorifying the murder of elected representatives is not ‘edgy’ or ‘rebellious’.  

“It is criminal incitement to violence. Sir David Amess and Jo Cox were murdered for doing their jobs.  

“No civilised society can tolerate this kind of poison.   

"Yet unbelievably, the organisers in Glasgow still intend to give these extremists a global platform. They should immediately reconsider.” 

Sir David Amess' daughter has called for the rap group to apologise for allegedly calling for politicians to be killed.

Annie Wells added: “Tensions already run high over the nature and many of their lyrics and political messaging. 

“The last thing we need is an incident kicking off in response to their views.” 

Kneecap has claimed it is facing “a coordinated smear campaign” and the “attacks” against it “are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods”. 

The group said on Friday: “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.”