Statement by TUV deputy leader Court Councillor Ron McDowell:
“I welcome the decision by the Metropolitan Police to charge a member of the rap group Kneecap with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
“For too long, the powers that be have turned a blind eye to this group’s open glorification of terrorism. This charge is long overdue.
“Last year, TUV lodged a formal complaint with the BBC over its uncritical and irresponsible promotion of Kneecap. It is worth revisiting what we said at that time:
“This morning on BBC Radio Ulster, both the news bulletins and the BBC Northern Ireland website provided entirely uncritical coverage of the ‘Kneecap’ film.
“They even platformed a character calling himself DJ Provai — of all things — to tell us that Irish is not just a language for one side of the community.
“There are many people in Northern Ireland who still carry the scars of being literally kneecapped by paramilitaries. Many more can testify to how ‘cross community’ the Provos truly were.
“That innocent victims should now have to watch a rap group build a career off the back of the IRA campaign is bad enough. But for a public service broadcaster to present them as inclusive cultural advocates — and report on them without so much as a whisper of criticism — is utterly intolerable.
“We wrote to the Director of BBC Northern Ireland to raise these concerns and requested a meeting where innocent victims of the Provos could express their outrage in person.”
“The truth is simple: we cannot and must not permit the glorification of terror — whether the terrorism is rooted in Northern Ireland or the Middle East.
“Kneecap crossed that line long ago.
“Those who have enabled or excused this — including figures in the media — must seriously reflect on their actions. Some have even tried to gaslight Unionists and victims by presenting these glorifiers of terrorism as cross-community ambassadors for the Irish language.
“It’s offensive. It’s dangerous. And it’s wrong.
“And while it may be too much to expect the BBC, given their track record, to apologise — they owe one to the innocent victims whose pain has been trivialised and ignored for far too long.”