Member's statement: Kneecap: Alleged Incitement to Violence
Member's statement by Mr Paul Frew on .
- MLA
- Mr Paul Frew
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 28 April 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Kneecap: Alleged Incitement to Violence
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4913795
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I raise a serious matter that was aired in public discourse and in the media last weekend and over the last number of hours: the alleged commentary that has come to light from the rap group, Kneecap. The serious allegation that, at one of their concerts, members of the band shouted, "Kill your local MP" and "The only good Tory is a dead Tory" is absolutely mind-blowing and shameful. I welcome the news that it is being investigated by the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit. There is absolutely nothing wrong with popular music artists or groups fighting for campaigns through lyrics or being anti-establishment. What is not acceptable is when they incite violence on anyone and, by extension, break the law. I remind the House that, in my lifetime, six MPs have been murdered — four by republican terrorists and, in the last 10 years, two others. They include Conservative Party, Labour Party and Ulster Unionist MPs: Sir David Amess, Jo Cox, Ian Gow, Sir Anthony Berry, our own Robert Bradford and Airey Neave. There are, of course, more throughout history, not least, Sir Henry Wilson, whose portrait adorns these corridors. This place has also felt loss throughout its history. Our walls are engraved with the names of people who have lost their lives, so, it is incredibly important that, when a line is crossed, when something is totally unacceptable and could be unlawful, thorough investigation should be conducted. Incitement to murder people or a particular person is incredibly worrying and needs to be condemned by all right-thinking people, including everyone in the House.
264 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.19 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.66).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.09 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.06 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.04 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.11 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.18 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.22 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.19 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.33 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.66 |
| Adopts it | 0.01 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.85 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.10 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.03 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:27 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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