UK Government Accused of Violating Its Own Laws in Blocking Kneecap Export Grant

Earlier this week, Belfast-based rap trio Kneecap secured a legal victory against the UK government over the decision by former business secretary — and now Conservative Party leader — Kemi Badenoch to block their Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) grant. The grant had initially been awarded but was later revoked due to the political nature of the group’s creative output.

Badenoch and the Conservative government she was part of “acted unlawfully, this is now a fact,” the group stated on Friday. They added, “They broke their own laws in trying to silence Kneecap,” simply because they “didn’t like our art, in particular our beautiful 2019 tour poster of Boris Johnson on a rocket.”

The Music Export Growth Scheme supports independent artists and labels pursuing opportunities in new markets. Although it is funded by the government’s Department for Business and Trade, it is managed by record industry trade group BPI, with a panel of industry experts selecting grant recipients.

The government typically takes a hands-off approach to the scheme, only requiring the Department for Business and Trade to formally approve each grant. However, in February, it emerged that the department had blocked a £14,250 grant awarded to Kneecap by the MEGS panel.

The decision was overtly political, with a spokesperson for Badenoch explaining that her department did not want to give taxpayers’ money “to people that oppose the United Kingdom itself.” This comment referred to Kneecap’s support for a united Ireland.

Read the full story at CMU here.