Murdered MP Jo Cox’s husband calls for ‘real apology’

The husband of murdered MP Jo Cox has called on Kneecap to give a “real apology” after footage emerged of the band allegedly calling for MPs to be killed.

It comes after the band defended themselves and posted an apology to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess in a statement on X on Monday night.

The band said that “an extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “They should apologise. I think you have seen what they have said, I think it is half-hearted”.

Brendan Cox, whose wife was killed in June 2016, said this was “only half an apology”.

Speaking on Tuesday, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that “what they’re reported to have said is a total disgrace”.

“I hope that everybody involved – not just the band but also those involved surrounding them and those involved in events – also take some responsibility on this and look very seriously at the consequences of these kinds of remarks, not just what’s been said,” she told Times Radio.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Tory MP Mark Francois described it as a “crocodile tears apology” and said the group should not be allowed to play Glastonbury in light of the ongoing police investigation.

Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis joined condemnation of the band in the Commons and urged the organisers of the Glastonbury festival to “think very carefully about who is invited there later this year”.

Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Simon Harris said he could understand why it was important Kneecap clarify any comments attributed to them.

“We need to get back to the focus here being on the fact that there are children in Gaza dying. There are children in Gaza being killed,” Harris told the Irish Cabinet.

“Tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza have been killed as a result of the actions of the Israeli Defense forces.”

Speaking on Radio Ulster’s Talkback programme on Tuesday, Mr Cox said: “It’s fine to say that you’re sorry for it, but the way that they have actually spoken about it is to suggest that it’s a conspiracy, that they have been targeted unfairly and for me that then doesn’t come across as unfortunately particularly genuine.”

In their statement, Kneecap said they rejected “any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever”.

“To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt,” the band added.

The footage of Kneecap is being assessed by counter-terrorism police and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for prosecution.

The daughter of Conservative MP Sir David Amess, Katie Amess, who was stabbed to death at a constituency surgery in 2021, said the rap group should apologise.

Speaking to BBC News NI on Tuesday, Katie Amess said she had not heard from Kneecap directly.

“They definitely need to reach out to the people they’re apologising to, otherwise you’re just apologising generically. It would be nice to hear from them directly,” Ms Amess said.

“The apology, it just seems to blame everybody else, it doesn’t really take any accountability. I think we just need to let the authorities do the work they are employed to do now and see where that goes,” she said.

Ms Amess added: “It would be good if they could actually be sincere with the apology and actually try and make amends on a human level rather than on a social media level.”

She said her offer to meet with the band still stands.

Mrs Cox, the former Batley and Spen MP, was killed by far-right terrorist Thomas Mair on 16 June 2016, a week before the EU referendum vote.

“The apology that they’ve given I don’t think has grappled enough with the gravity of what they said,” said Mr Cox.

“When you lose someone that close to you, that never goes away and that every single day that is part of your life. It’s the real sense that they are missing out.”

Mr Cox added: “It wasn’t a throwaway remark. It was part of a conversation that they were having about politics, and it was a very clear incitement to violence.

“I doubt that they really wanted someone to go out and kill a Tory MP, but if you say those words… then the risk of someone acting on those words is there.”

Mr Cox said the band needed to “deeply reflect” on whether they want to be associated with calls for violence.

“I think a more fulsome reflection on the mistake that they’ve made, if it indeed is a mistake, I think is necessary.”

Mr Cox added that “in order to be confident” that the band is “genuinely remorseful” and not “just trying to save their bookings or their tour, I think they need to grapple more fundamentally with it”.

Mr Cox said “using the plight of people in Gaza in the way that they have done and to say that this is an attempt to shut them up on those issues is not acceptable”.

“Whatever your democratic politics, whether you’re a Tory, Labour, Sinn Féin, Ulster Unionist, whatever, there is no excuse for incitement of violence against members of parliament or against civilians, and that should be something that we can all agree on,” he added.

In their statement, Kneecap said: “They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide.”

They condemned “all attacks on civilians, always” and added that the band “do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah”.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah, are banned in the UK and it is a crime to express support for them.

Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel launched a massive military offensive in response, which has killed at least 52,243 Palestinians – mostly civilians – according to the latest figures released by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

On Tuesday, the Edens Sessions announced that the Kneecap show scheduled for 4 July has been cancelled.

The Eden Sessions are a series of live outdoor music concerts in the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Last week, Sharon Osbourne called for the band’s US work visas to be revoked.

It came after their performances at Coachella, an annual music festival in California, where they ended their set with pro-Palestinian messages.

Writing on social media, the TV personality and America’s Got Talent judge said the hip-hop trio “took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements”.

Kneecap hit back at the visa call, and when asked by BBC News NI for a response, the band replied: “Statements aren’t aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is though.”

The visas held by the band members are understood to no longer be valid and they are in the process of securing a new sponsor ahead of their sell-out October tour in North America.

Kneecap are an Irish-speaking rap trio who have courted controversy with their provocative lyrics and merchandise.

The group was formed in 2017 by three friends who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí.

Their rise to fame inspired a semi-fictionalised film starring Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender.

The film won a British Academy of Film Award (Bafta) in February 2025.