Kneecap have secured permission to challenge the UK government in court over Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch's decision to block them from receiving an arts funding award.
The West Belfast rap trio, vocal advocates for the unification of Ireland, had applied for the UK's Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) grant, funded by the UK's Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, with support from the British Phonographic Industry, in order to offset costs of touring in the US.
But in February, having had their application rubber-stamped, the grant was vetoed by intervention from the Conservative government, with Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, telling the Irish Times newspaper, “We fully support freedom of speech, but it’s hardly surprising that we don’t want to hand out UK taxpayers’ money to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself.”
Kneecap vowed to challenge the decision, stating “Once again the British government is trying to silence voices from West Belfast – once again it will fail!” Lawyers for the group claim that Badenoch's action discriminated against the trio on grounds of religious belief or political opinion, as well as racial grounds of nationality and ethnic origin.
