Kneecap say they have been “removed” from playing at a music festival in Scotland this July.

It comes after the organisers of TRNSMT said the group, made up of Liam Og O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain, and JJ O Dochartaigh, will “no longer perform” at the event following “safety concerns” raised by the police.

Last Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig in Kentish Town, north London, in November 2024.

The hip hop trio from Belfast had been due to perform at the Glasgow festival on Friday, 11 July.

However, in a statement posted on social media, the rappers said they will instead play their own solo headline show at the 02 Academy in the Scottish city three days before TRNSMT.

The Irish language group said: “To the thousands of people who bought tickets, flights and hotels to see us play, we are sorry…it is out of our hands. Glasgow has always been a huge city for us.

“We’ve played there many, many times, with no issues – ever. Make of that what you will.

“To try to make up for it, we will be at your O2 Academy on Tuesday, 8 July.”

They also quoted a statement from TRNSMT, which a festival spokeswoman confirmed via email, saying: “Due to concerns expressed by the police about safety at the event, Kneecap will no longer perform at TRNSMT on Friday, 11 July.

“We thank fans for their understanding.”

Later on Wednesday, the group shared a news story on X which said they had “pulled out” and added: “Kneecap didn’t ‘pull out’ of TRNSMT – Kneecap were removed.”

What have the police said?

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Any decision on the line-up at TRNSMT is for the organisers and there was no prior consultation with Police Scotland before acts were booked.

“Officers have highlighted the potential reaction of such a large audience to this band would require a significant policing operation in order to support the delivery of a safe event.

“We have also passed on information from the public around safety concerns to allow organisers to make an informed decision on the running of the festival.”

Kneecap member faces terror charge

Last week, the Metropolitan Police charged O hAnnaidh, 27, with displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, an Islamist militant group based in Lebanon, is a proscribed terror organisation in the UK.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.

Kneecap release new song

On Friday, Kneecap shared a link to their new song The Recap – which opens with Sky News presenter Wilfred Frost reporting about the counter terror police investigation – on Instagram, linking to their WhatsApp channel.

Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government in Belfast High Court after former business secretary Kemi Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was a minister.

Ms Badenoch, who is now leader of the Conservative Party, has called for Kneecap to be banned and suggested they should be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. Some other politicians have made the same demand.

The new track mocks Ms Badenoch’s attempts to block their arts funding and the Conservative Party’s election loss. It features DJ Mozey.

Former Hollyoaks star Paul Danan died by misadventure after taking a cocktail of drugs, a coroner has ruled.

The 46-year-old played Sol Patrick on the Channel 4 soap from 1997 to 2001 and was later known for his reality TV appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Love Island.

An inquest into Danan’s death was told he was found unresponsive and slumped on his sofa in front of the TV at his home in Brislington, Bristol, on 15 January.

Emergency services attended and confirmed he had died, with his body being identified at the scene by his partner Melissa Crooks.

A post-mortem examination concluded his death was due to the combined toxicity of heroin, methadone, codeine, pregabalin, cocaine and zopiclone, contributed to by benzodiazepine use.

Assistant Coroner Debbie Rookes reached the conclusion Danan had died by misadventure after hearing written statements from emergency services doctors and his mother Beverley Danan.

In a statement, Mrs Danan said: “Paul helped so many people from all walks of life but just couldn’t help himself in the same way.

“His smiling face and love of life will always be remembered.”

Ms Rookes concluded Danan had died from the combined effects of prescribed and illicit drugs.

She told the hearing at Avon Coroner’s Court in Flax Bourton, near Bristol, that there was no evidence Danan, who suffered an accidental overdose in May 2024, had intended to take his own life.

A previous hearing was told Danan did not leave a note.

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The coroner said: “Paul Danan was clearly much loved and is very much missed.

“Mr Danan had a long history of drug misuse and struggles with his mental health. His death was caused by a combination of drugs, both prescription and illicit.

“Paul had struggled with his mental health for many years. He had taken an overdose in May 2024 but he was adamant that this was accidental and he didn’t have any intention to end his life.

“Although he had occasional suicidal thoughts, he didn’t have any active plans. I don’t have any evidence before me that Paul intended to take his own life at this time.

“Therefore, the conclusion is misadventure.”

The coroner said none of the drugs Danan had taken were found in high levels but their combined effect resulted in “fatal respiratory depression”.

Danan had previously spoken about his struggles with addiction and going into rehab.

The actor had been due to appear for a plea hearing at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 16 January after being charged with possession of cocaine and cannabis, according to court documents.

He was also accused of driving while under the influence of drugs in Warrington, Cheshire, on 2 October last year.

Sean “Diddy” Combs kidnapped a former aide at gunpoint to join him as he attempted to confront love rival rapper Kid Cudi, his sex-trafficking trial has been told.

Capricorn Clark, who worked for the Bad Boy Records co-founder in different roles on and off for several years, told the court he banged on her door and told her: “Get dressed, we’re going to kill Mescudi.”

Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, last week testified himself about the alleged incident in December 2011.

Ms Clark became tearful a few times as she gave evidence – which marked the start of the third week of the high-profile trial. She told the court her situation working for the hip-hop mogul was “complicated”.

Combs, 55, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, is accused of subjecting his former long-term partner Cassie and others to years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 10 – as it happened

While giving her own evidence in the first week of the trial, Cassie told jurors she dated Cudi briefly during a difficult period in her on-off relationship with Combs.

On Tuesday, Ms Clark said she warned Cassie about seeing Cudi, saying she took her to buy a burner phone as she thought it could be dangerous given how Combs might react. “The way she was moving, she was going to get us all killed,” Ms Clark said.

Combs arrived at her home with a gun in his hand on the morning of the attempted confrontation with Cudi, she told the court, and looked “furious”.

She says she told him she did not want to go with him, to which he allegedly replied: “I don’t give a f**k what you want to do.”

Ms Clark said she had never seen “anything like this before”, but got dressed and left with Combs in a black Cadillac to head to the property in the Hollywood Hills.

She said she waited in the car as Combs went into the residence, and called Cassie to warn her. The rapper had her “with a gun and brought me to Cudi’s house to kill him”, she said she told her.

Cudi could be heard in the background of the call, she said, asking: “He’s in my house?”

After the incident, Ms Clark alleged Combs warned her and Cassie not to speak to police and threatened to “kill all you” if they did not convince Cudi not to either.

In the aftermath of this incident, Ms Clark alleged Combs “came at” Cassie with “100% full force”, repeatedly kicking her while she crouched “more and more” into a foetal position and cried “silently”.

The rapper told Ms Clark that if she tried to intervene, “he was going to f**k me up too”, she said.

Earlier in her testimony, she told the court about the start of her employment with Combs and his label Bad Boy Records in 2004.

She said after he discovered she had previously worked for Marion “Suge” Knight’s Death Row Records – the West Coast rival to East Coast Bad Boy – he told her “if anything happened, he would have to kill me”.

Ms Clark said she perceived this as a “very serious” threat. She also told the court about another alleged incident just a few weeks into the job, when some diamond jewellery on loan to Combs went missing.

She told the court she was taken to a building in Manhattan and forced to repeatedly take lie detector tests over five days.

The man who carried out the test told her that if she failed, “they’re going to throw you in the East River”, she said.

Combs was not present for the tests and never spoke to her about them, she said, when questioned by defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo.

During her testimony, Ms Clark mentioned an incident involving fellow rapper 50 Cent’s manager, after both 50 Cent and Combs had done interviews for MTV.

Combs mentioned to the manager that they had some issues and told him, “I like guns”, she said, which she perceived as a vague threat.

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Ms Clark also described attempting to leave Combs’s home in Miami on one occasion in 2006, when she was allegedly told to “get the f**k back here” by the rapper.

According to Ms Clark, he told her: “Your problem is you want a life, and you can’t have that here.”

The trial continues tomorrow, with evidence expected from LA police and fire officers.

If convicted, Combs could face between 15 years and life in prison.