Belfast-based rap trip Kneecap have sought to take legal action against Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and the British government following the decision from Badenoch and the government to block the group from receiving arts funding. The Belfast law firm Phoenix Law have agreed to represent Kneecap in this ongoing matter.
Kneecap have claimed the UK government blocked the grant, or the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) funding award, worth £15,000 in a bid to “silence” them. The BPI has said it was “disappointed” with the decision made by the government in not approving the grant, despite funding under the Music Export Growth Scheme being recommended by an independent panel.
A letter from Phoenix Law seeking a judicial review of the decision made by Badenoch claims the action is “state-sponsored censorship“, adding that the decision contravenes the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The law firm also states that the decision violates the Windsor framework, a post-Brexit trade deal that sets out Northern Ireland’s rights in regards to the UK and the EU.
Our team has assembled https://t.co/JhzjuQctZB
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) February 9, 2024
A spokesperson for Kemi Badenoch has said, “We fully support freedom of speech, but it’s hardly surprising that we don’t want to hand out UK tax money to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself.”
Kneecap, posting on X, has said in a statement, “We’ve been blocked from receiving significant music funding because a Tory Minister doesn’t like our art. F*ck the Tories.”
The leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, an Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland, Colum Eastwood, has called the decision by Badenoch to overturn the decision to grant the funding “highly irregular”.
He has said, “It would be unacceptable if the British Government had instituted a policy of defunding groups because they support Irish Unity, Scottish Independence, Welsh Independence or any other change to the constitutional status quo. Worse, in the context of Northern Ireland it may represent a breach of the British Government’s obligations under the treaty signed after the Good Friday Agreement which includes a commitment to exercise power on the basis of parity of esteem between communities in the North.”
He added, “Art is meant to be challenging. You don’t have to agree with an artist or group to understand the importance of funding creators who challenge the status quo and the establishment. I have submitted a number of Parliamentary Questions to establish what has happened here. If there has been a change of funding policy to make that more difficult then Kemi Badenoch needs to come clean about it.”
Kneecap, formed in 2017, frequently visit the topic of Irish nationalism in their music and sing in both Irish and English. They have released one album, 3CAG (2018), and plan on touring North America next month.
Listen to “Get Your Brits Out” below:
