Rap trio Kneecap has said that it does not support Hamas or Hezbollah and rejected any suggestion that it would seek to incite violence against anyone.
The statement comes after a video emerged of the Belfast group, at a November 2023 gig, appearing to show one member saying: "The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP."
Police in the UK are examining the footage, along with a video clip from another concert in November 2024 in which a band member appeared to shout "up Hamas, up Hezbollah".
Both groups are banned as terrorist organisations in the UK.
In a statement, issued on X, Kneecap said: "Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah.
"We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation's history.
"We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever.
"An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.
"This distortion is not only absurd - it is a transparent effort to derail the real conversation, the statement added.
The band also apologised to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess, saying "we never intended to cause you hurt".
KNEECAP STATEMENT:
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 28, 2025
They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide.
Establishment figures, desperate to silence us, have combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, extracting a handful of words from months or years ago to manufacture moral… pic.twitter.com/qZht5532Zf
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin called on Kneecap to "urgently clarify" if it supported Hamas and Hezbollah, saying that such backing would be unacceptable.
Mr Martin said that both groups participated in terrorist activities and appalling killings.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin, the Taoiseach said it was "important" for the band to clarify its position.
Watch: Taoiseach Micheál Martin urges Kneecap clarify their views on Hamas and Hezbollah
"Have they, or do they, support Hamas and Hezbollah, because that would be unacceptable," he said, adding that Hezbollah was, in his view, responsible for the murder of Private Seán Rooney in Lebanon in 2022.
"Both Hamas and Hezbollah have views that are absolutely ... not just views, but participated in terrorist activities and appalling killing of innocent people, as witnessed on 7 October.
"But it's not clear to me that they do, that Kneecap does support Hezbollah and Hamas. It's been asserted that they have made commentary in support of both. I think they need to urgently clarify that."
Mr Martin added that in the broader scheme of things in the creative arts, people have the right to criticise policies and he has no issue with that.
Starmer, Badenoch hit out at Kneecap
In the UK, the government condemned Kneecap, while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called for a prosecution after a member of the group allegedly called for the death of Tory MPs.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman said that he believed the comments were "completely unacceptable" and "condemns them in the strongest possible terms".
Ms Badenoch said Kneecap's "anti-British hatred has no place in our society".
"After the murder of Sir David Amess, this demands prosecution," she added.
Mr Amess, a Conservative MP, was stabbed to death while meeting constituents in Essex in 2021.
His daughter Katie Amess told BBC's Good Morning Ulster that it is "beyond belief that human beings would speak like that", adding that there were "absolute nutters" who could try to act upon the comments allegedly made by Kneecap.
She called on the group to apologise, saying she was "absolutely gobsmacked at the stupidity of somebody or a group of people being in the public eye and saying such dangerous, violent rhetoric".
Ms Badenoch blocked a government grant to the bilingual Belfast group while she was business secretary.
But last November, Kneecap won a discrimination challenge over the decision to refuse the group a £14,250 funding award after the UK government conceded it was "unlawful".
Ms Badenoch said it was "extraordinary" that Labour had previously "let (Kneecap) have the money".
Downing Street indicated that there would be no further public funds directed towards the band.
"I don't think organisations such as that should be receiving taxpayers' money," Mr Starmer's spokesman said.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the group has become "a hatefest" that "promotes division".
The Belfast East MP said a "slim defence" is put forward that argues the group "have freedom of this expression".
"They have become a hate fest," he said, speaking at Stormont.
Labour MP urges Glastonbury to remove Kneecap
A Labour MP has written to the organiser of the Glastonbury Festival, urging him to remove Kneecap from the bill.
David Taylor told Michael Eavis that it would be "deeply troubling" to see the band performing at the event.
Kneecap is listed to play on the Saturday of this June's festival.
In his letter, Mr Taylor said that by hosting such a group, Glastonbury "undermining its proud tradition of promoting peace, unity and social responsibility".
"It would be deeply troubling to see the festival provide a platform to individuals who advocate hatred and violence, especially at a time when political and social tensions are already high.
"I urge you to reconsider the decision to host Kneecap and remove them from the list of performers.
"Doing so would send a clear message that Glastonbury stands firmly against violence, terrorism, and political extremism in all its forms."
Conservative former minister Mark Francois also called for Kneecap to be removed from the festival line-up.
Mr Francois told the House of Commons that "under the circumstances" it would be "unconscionable" for the trio to perform at the festival.
"So as the Speaker (Lindsay Hoyle) is chairing a Speaker's conference on MP safety, could we implore him, through you Madam Deputy Speaker, to write to the organisers of the Glastonbury Festival and say that this House does not think it is appropriate that Kneecap should be allowed to appear at least until the investigation is completed?"
Deputy Speaker Judith Cummins replied: "We do not discuss security matters on the floor of the House, but I do understand that the police are investigating these incidents."
She added that there has been "no indication that ministers intend to come to the House to make a statement".
Additional reporting Mícheál Lehane, PA
