Kneecap win discrimination case against the British government
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(Credits: Kneecap)
Kneecap successfully won their court case against the British government after it was deemed they discriminated against the Irish group by stopping them from receiving funding as part of a scheme to promote British music abroad.
In December 2023, Kneecap was included in the Music Export Growth Scheme, which aims to promote British bands internationally and had previously been signed off by the BPI. However, an intervention from the Department for Business and Trade, then headed up by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, stopped Kneecap from receiving funds.
Following the intervention in February, a spokesperson for Badenoch said the reasoning for the intervention was due to Kneecap’s desire to see a united Ireland, stating they shouldn’t offer grants “to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself.”
Kneecap immediately announced their plans to fight back, and on November 29th, during a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, they were victorious in their pursuit of justice.
While the case was ongoing, during an interview with Far Out earlier this year, Kneecap’s DJ Provaí said, “We pay taxes to the United Kingdom against our will, and by that idea, we shouldn’t have to pay taxes if we’re not able to benefit from the taxes that we pay.”
Meanwhile, Móglaí Bap labelled it “USSR-type politics,” claiming the government is only willing to subsidise art if it “aligns with our politics.” He added, “That’s basically what they’re saying, and I think it’s a bad precedent to set for art in general.”
Kneecap’s response to the ruling
Now, in a new statement on November 29th, they shared: “Today, unsurprisingly the British governments own courts ruled that they acted illegally in stopping funding to Kneecap. For us this action was never about £14,250, it could have been 50 pence. The motivation was equality. This was an attack on artistic culture, an attack on the Good Friday Agreement itself and an attack on Kneecap and our way of expressing ourselves.”
Kneecap also revealed they will use the funding to help youth charities in both Republican and Unionist areas of Belfast, revealing, “Today we will send the full amount awarded to two youth organisations in Belfast who work with the two communities to create a better future for our young people. £7,125 will go to ‘Glór Na Móna’ in Ballymurphy and £7,125 will go to ‘RCity Belfast’ on the Shankill Road.”
Furthermore, they claimed that the ruling confirmed that Badenoch “acted unlawfully”, before adding of their political beliefs, “They don’t like that we oppose British rule, that we don’t believe that England serves anyone in Ireland and the working classes on both sides of the community deserve better; deserve funding, deserve appropriate mental health services, deserve to celebrate music and art and deserve the freedom to express our culture.”
Additionally, Kneecap described the intervention as a “fascist type action” and labelled the tactic an “attempt to block art that does not agree with their views after an independent body made a decision.”
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