Connect with us

Published

on

Whether it’s a cup of tea on a rainy day, re-watching your favourite sitcom, or pulling on those old pyjamas you really should’ve replaced by now, we all have our own homely comforts.

But for a generation of children of the 1990s and 2000s, nothing says “this is living” like unloading assault rifles and lobbing grenades during online bouts of Call Of Duty (COD).

“It’s like putting on a cosy old jumper,” says long-time fan Sam Jones, who started playing in 2007, aged 11.

“And as I grew older, it became a comfort. You’ve less time, people drop off, find different interests, but I’ve still got a core group of four or five mates who’ve been playing for 15 years.”

Shelby Carlton holds a similar fondness for the franchise, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary.

“I started playing COD, actually the original Modern Warfare, when I was a kid,” she recalls, with a belated apology to her parents for ignoring the game’s age rating.

“I’d have friends over and I have really fond memories of playing those games and making those friendships.”

The original Modern Warfare released in 2007. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
The original Modern Warfare was released in 2007. Pic: Activision Blizzard

Sixteen years later and she’s the narrative director on Modern Warfare III, which releases on 10 November.

Yes, COD has been around so long that childhood fans are now the ones making it.

This one’s the latest instalment in COD’s Modern Warfare subseries, which returned after a long absence in 2019.

Modern Warfare first ran from 2007 to 2011, ending with its own Modern Warfare III. While the rebooted entries have been unconnected plot-wise, they offer plenty of nods, winks, and references to veteran players.

It makes the new game a fitting way to mark the franchise’s anniversary and show how far the series has come.

The original Modern Warfare III hit in 2011. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
The first Modern Warfare III in 2011…

Modern Warfare III arrives this month. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
…and the new version for 2023. Pics: Activision Blizzard

Ever-increasing scope

“It feels like it just gets bigger,” says creative director Dave Swenson, who’s worked on COD for north of a decade.

“The army of artists, audio people and designers that come together to make the games is pretty amazing and it’s a huge undertaking over several years to create one.”

Despite the annual release cadence, each COD is a multi-year project for the people who make it.

The franchise calls on three main development studios: Infinity Ward, the original creators of the franchise; Treyarch, which birthed the popular Black Ops subseries; and Modern Warfare III’s team Sledgehammer.

There has been a new mainline entry every year since 2005, while free-to-play COD Mobile on smartphones and Fortnite-like Warzone have also taken on lives of their own.

Call Of Duty debuted in 2003. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
Call Of Duty debuted in 2003….

Call Of Duty has released every year without fail since the first sequel in 2005. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
…and has released every year since the first sequel in 2005. Pics: Activision Blizzard

‘I met my grooms men on Call Of Duty!’

Tom Lynch is one fan who will always hold Warzone in particularly high regard.

He made such firm friends on the virtual battlefield while stuck at home during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 that they wound up being far more than just squad mates.

“Because we didn’t have anywhere to go, COD became a great social setting to hang out with mates,” he says.

“And it put me in touch with friends I hadn’t seen in a while – and then also met people through the game who ultimately became the groomsmen at my wedding!”

Tom Lynch streamed COD with friends during lockdown
Image:
Tom Lynch made friends on COD during the pandemic…

Tom Lynch (third from left) met several of his grooms men through playing COD in lockdown. Pic: Julie King Photography
Image:
…friends who would become his grooms men. Pic: Julie King Photography

Record revenues

Between the mainline series, Warzone, and the mobile game, it’s no surprise that at last count, there were more than 3,000 people working on the franchise.

Sledgehammer alone has teams spanning the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.

The scale is matched by the revenues, with 2022’s game raking in a record $1bn in its first 10 days on sale.

Johanna Fairies, who manages the franchise at publisher Activision Blizzard, believes the teams have “continued to raise the bar on what ambition looks like”.

“The gaming industry is only getting more competitive,” she says.

“But the annualised cycle has been quite unique to us – to be able to sustain that is a feat unto itself.

“It brings even more meaning to the 20th anniversary.”

Call Of Duty League Launch Weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Image:
COD’s multiplayer has become an e-sports phenomenon

‘An interesting challenge’

Directors Swenson and Carlton are confident they’re on to another winner with Modern Warfare III, which boasts a story-driven campaign and a raft of online multiplayer modes.

The online experience is notable this year for letting players carry over progress from the previous game, while the campaign strives to freshen things up despite an inevitable sense of familiarity.

Swenson is excited by the campaign’s new “open combat missions”, with are far less linear than fans are used to, instead encouraging them to approach objectives as they see fit.

But serving as a direct sequel to 2022’s Modern Warfare II, and also a sort-of remake of 2011’s game, Carlton admits she knew there were specific story beats she had to hit.

Advanced Warfare in 2014 was the first Call Of Duty led by Sledgehammer. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
Advanced Warfare in 2014 was the first Call Of Duty led by Sledgehammer. Pic: Activision Blizzard

“It’s an interesting challenge,” Carlton says of writing a blockbuster game like this, which begins with an almighty brainstorm session featuring enough whiteboards and post-it notes to fill a terminal.

“You start with the end in mind, work backwards, sometimes you work forwards, sometimes you’re in the middle!”

One nailed-on narrative decision was the return of fan-favourite villain Vladimir Makarov, an ultranationalist Russian terrorist with his mind set on sparking World War III.

Trailers suggest his return coincides with a reimagining of one of the franchise’s most infamous levels, “No Russian”, which tasked players with participating in a mass shooting at a Russian airport in a bid to gain Makarov’s trust.

Swenson and Carlton are keeping their lips sealed on how it plays out this time.

Modern Warfare II's debut in 2009 boasted some of the series' most popular maps. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
The new game brings back popular multiplayer maps from 2009’s Modern Warfare II. Pic: Activision Blizzard

Real modern warfare

Of course, depressingly, the idea of a new world war erupting from eastern Europe or elsewhere doesn’t feel as innocently escapist as the developers may have thought when Modern Warfare debuted in 2007.

Forget Second World War archive footage, today’s COD writers need only turn on the news to see marching armies, rolling tanks, and toppled buildings that would look right at home in the games.

Creative director Swenson admits his team “can’t help but be inspired by the world around us”, but insists this franchise remains solely concerned with being entertainment.

“There’s real conflict happening in the world today and it’s really heartbreaking,” he says.

“[But] this game is a work of fiction and a story that’s been in the making and we’ve been working on for years.

“As a company, we don’t use this game to make any political commentary or anything like that.”

Read more:
The Ukrainian studio bringing horrors of war to gamers’ attention

Call Of Duty has found a regular home in WWII, including World At War in 2008. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
COD has found a regular home in WWII, including in 2008…

COD returned to WWII in the aptly named WWII in 2021. Pic: Activision Blizzard
Image:
…and 2021. Pics: Activision Blizzard

Regardless of what the real world has in store over the next year, few things are as assured as COD’s usual October/November release date.

It remains to be seen whether Microsoft’s record takeover of Activision will change the series’ trajectory, but the money involved would suggest a reluctance to stop milking this epic cash cow any time soon.

Whether 2024 sees another Modern Warfare, a return to a prior conflict, or something entirely new, the developers themselves seem to guarantee one thing.

“Bigger” is the only way to go.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

‘Powerful individuals’ at BBC making lives of colleagues ‘unbearable’, says chairman

Published

on

By

'Powerful individuals' at BBC making lives of colleagues 'unbearable', says chairman

“Powerful individuals” at the BBC are making the lives of their colleagues “unbearable”, the corporation’s chairman has said, after a review into its workplace culture.

The independent report, sparked by the Huw Edwards scandal, was carried out by Change Associates, the same management consultancy that led a similar review in 2013, following the Jimmy Savile scandal.

BBC chairman Samir Shah told staff ahead of the report’s release on Monday morning: “There is a minority of people whose behaviour is simply not acceptable. And there are still places where powerful individuals – on and off screen – can abuse that power to make life for their colleagues unbearable.”

He said the report made recommendations to “prioritise action over procedural change”, as well as addressing “deep-seated issues” including staff not feeling confident enough to speak up.

Mr Shah added: “In the end, it’s quite simple: if you are a person who is prepared to abuse power or punch down or behave badly, there is no place for you at the BBC.”

While the review, which heard from around 2,500 employees and freelancers from 19 different countries, found no evidence of a toxic culture within the corporation, some staff said there was “a minority of people at the BBC – both on and off-air – who were able to behave unacceptably without it being addressed”.

The report said: “Even though they are small in number, their behaviour creates large ripples which negatively impact the BBC’s culture and external reputation.”

More on Bbc

It said these people were “dotted across the organisation in different functions and departments”, and were “often in positions where power could be abused”.

While no specific names were mentioned in the report, it did note “some names were mentioned several times”.

Former BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards leaves Westminster Magistrates' Court, London, where he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment suspended for two years after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. Picture date: Monday September 16, 2024.
Image:
Huw Edwards was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence in September. Pic: PA

Some considered ‘indispensable’

One example of poor behaviour given included an “untouchable” presenter being “called out for exceptionally inappropriate language”. It said that while “a report was made” and sanctions promised, a senior manager who was in the room at the time of the incident was “perceived as deferring so as not to rock the boat”.

It said a blind eye could be turned to poor behaviours “when productions were award winning or attracting large audiences”.

The report went on to warn that, “at its worst”, the corporation “rewards” such individuals “by providing little or no consequence to their actions”.

It recognised that some of those displaying “unacceptable behaviour” were perceived as “indispensable” to the corporation, and that by moving “potentially vexatious issues” to formal grievance without appropriate due diligence, the BBC was “tolerating” the problem.

It also said that by keeping those who formally raised an issue “in the dark about progress and outcomes,” it was unfairly punishing them.

The BBC board has fully accepted the report and its findings, as has BBC management.

BBC chairman Samir Shah answering questions at the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
Pic: PA
Image:
BBC chairman Samir Shah. Pic: PA

BBC director-general Tim Davie called the report “an important moment for the BBC and the wider industry”.

He said the corporation would implement the recommendations “at pace”, making sure that BBC values are “lived and championed by the whole organisation each and every day.”

Actions being taken include:

• A strengthened code of conduct, with specific guidance for on-air presenters
• A more robust disciplinary policy, with updated examples of misconduct and clear consequences
• All TV production partners must meet Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) industry standards
• A new “Call It Out” campaign to promote positive behaviour, empower informal resolution and challenge poor conduct
• Clear pledges for anyone raising concerns, setting out what they can expect from the BBC

Further actions include succession planning for the most senior on-air roles, a new “resolving concerns helpline”, more training for managers and clearer behaviour expectations for freelancers.

A difficult year for the BBC

The BBC has been under pressure to act after a string of complaints against some of its top talent over the last 12 months.

In September, Edwards, who was the BBC’s lead news presenter, pleaded guilty to three counts of “making” indecent images of children. He was given a six-month suspended jail sentence and will be on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Huw Edwards leaves court after sentencing

Earlier this month, following a CPS review, Russell Brand, was charged with rape and sexual assault.

Brand, who worked for BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music between 2006 and 2008, denies all allegations against him and says all his sexual encounters were consensual.

The BBC also apologised in January after a review found it “did not take adequate action” upon learning about concerns over former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood following claims of “bullying and misogynistic behaviour”.

Other allegations of misconduct against BBC talent include accusations of a toxic environment on Strictly Come Dancing and the firing of The One Show presenter Jermaine Jenas after he admitted sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues.

And late last year, Greg Wallace stepped down from his presenting role on MasterChef after multiple historical allegations of misconduct.

Wallace’s lawyers have said it is “entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”. Wallace has since said he is seeking “space to heal”.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Kim Kardashian’s Paris robbery trial: Everything you need to know

Published

on

By

Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery trial: Everything you need to know

In October 2016, Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint – with jewellery worth millions of dollars stolen during the audacious heist in Paris.

It was the biggest robbery of an individual in France for more than 20 years – and made front pages around the world.

Now, almost a decade on, the case is finally coming to court.

Why has it taken so long? Will Kardashian give evidence? And who exactly are the “grandpa robbers” facing trial?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Pic: Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock
Image:
Kardashian at the Siran Presentation on the day of the robbery. Pic: Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock

What happened?

Two years after Kardashian and rapper Kanye West tied the knot in an ostentatious week-long celebration spanning Paris and Florence, the Kardashian-West clan were back in the French capital for Paris Fashion Week.

Her then husband had returned to the US to pick up his Saint Pablo tour – but Kardashian, along with her sister Kourtney and various members of their entourage, remained in Paris, staying in an exclusive set of apartments so discreet they’ve been dubbed the No Address Hotel.

Nestled on Tronchet Street, just a stone’s throw from Place de l’Opéra, and close to the fashionable Avenue Montaigne, the Hotel de Pourtalès is popular with A-list stars staying in the French capital.

A stay in the Sky Penthouse, the suite occupied by Kardashian, will currently set you back about £13,000 a night.

Kardashian was staying at the Hotel de Pourtales
Image:
Kardashian was staying at the Hotel de Pourtales

On the evening of 3 October, after attending a fashion show with her sister, Kardashian remained in the apartment alone while the rest of her convoy – including her bodyguard Pascal Duvier – went out for the night.

At about 2.30am, three armed men wearing ski masks and dressed as police forced their way into the apartment block – and according to investigators, they threatened the concierge at gunpoint.

Two of them are alleged to have forced the concierge to lead them to Kardashian’s suite. He later told police they yelled at him: “Where’s the rapper’s wife?”

Kardashian said she had been “dozing” on her bed when the men then entered her room.

She has said she believes her social media posts provided the alleged robbers with “a window of opportunity”.

“I was Snapchatting that I was home, and that everyone was going out,” she said in the months after the incident.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star vividly described the attack in a police report, as reported in the French weekly paper Le Journal Du Dimanche.

“They grabbed me and took me into the hallway. They tied me up with plastic cables and taped my hands, then they put tape over my mouth and my legs.”

She said they pointed a gun at her, asking specifically for her ring and also for money.

Police guard the entrance to the building where Kim has been staying
Image:
Police guard the entrance to the Hotel de Pourtalès the day after the robbery

Kardashian says they carried her into the bathroom and put her in the bathtub. She said she was wearing only a bathrobe at the time.

She had initially thought the robbers “were terrorists who had come to kidnap me”, according to a French police report taken in New York three months after the robbery.

Kardashian told officers: “I thought I was going to die.”

According to police, the robbers – who left the room after grabbing their haul, escaped on bicycles with items estimated to be worth about $10m (£7.5m), including a $4m (£3m) 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring from West.

After they had left, Kardashian said she escaped her restraints and went to find help. After speaking to detectives, she immediately returned to the US on a private jet and later hired a completely new security team.

Kim Kardashian shows off a ring on Instagram
Image:
Kardashian shows off her $4m ring on Instagram

What was stolen?

As well as her engagement ring, Kardashian said the thieves took her large Louis Vuitton jewellery box, which she said contained “everything I owned”.

In police reports given to the French authorities at about 4.30am on the night of the alleged robbery, Kardashian listed these items as having been stolen:

• Two diamond Cartier bracelets
• A gold and diamond Jacob necklace
• Diamond earrings by Lauren Schwartz
• Yanina earrings
• Three gold Jacob necklaces
• Little bracelets, jewels and rings
• A Lauren Schwartz diamond necklace
• A necklace with six little diamonds
• A necklace with Saint spelt out in diamonds
• A cross-shaped diamond-encrusted Jacob cross
• A yellow gold Rolex watch
• Two yellow gold rings
• An iPhone 6 and a BlackBerry

Police recovered only the diamond-encrusted cross that was dropped by the robbers while leaving.

It’s likely the gold in the haul was melted down and resold, while the diamond engagement ring that is now so associated with the robbery would be far too recognisable to sell on the open market.

Kardashian at the Siran Presentation on the day of the robbery. Pic: Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock
Image:
Kardashian at the Siran Presentation on the day of the robbery. Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock

What will happen in court?

The hearing will begin at the Court of Appeal of Paris – the largest appeals court in France – on 28 April and is scheduled to last a month.

It will consist of a presiding judge, two professional assessors, and six main jurors.

The hearing involves more than 2,000 documents and there are four civil parties.

Kardashian at the Balenciaga show on the day of the robbery. Pic: Pixelformula/Sipa/Shutterstock
Image:
Kardashian at the Balenciaga show on the day of the robbery. Pic: Pixelformula/Sipa/Shutterstock

Who is being tried?

There were initially 12 defendants in the case, but one person has died and another has a medical condition that prevents their involvement. This means 10 people – nine men and one woman – are standing trial.

Five of them, who were all aged between 60 and 72 at the time of the incident, face armed robbery and kidnapping charges. They are:

• Yunice Abbas
• Aomar Ait Khedache
• Harminv Ait Khedache
• Didier Dubreucq
• Marc-Alexandre Boyer

Abbas, 72, has admitted his participation in the robbery. In 2021, he published a book about the robbery, titled I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian. In 2021, a court ruled he would not benefit financially from the book.

Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, known to French crime reporters as “Old Omar”, has also admitted participating in the heist but denies the prosecution’s accusation that he was the ringleader.

The remaining five defendants are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon. They are:

• Florus Heroui
• Gary Madar
• Christiane Glotin
• François Delaporte
• Marc Boyer

Among those, Mader was a VIP greeter who worked for the car company Kardashian used in Paris, and Heroui was a bar manager who allegedly passed on information about Kardashian’s movements.

With many of the accused now ageing and with various serious health conditions, and some having spent time in jail following their arrest, all are currently free under judicial supervision.

If found guilty, those accused of the more serious crimes could face 10 years to life imprisonment.

Pic: Photo Image Press/Shutterstock
Image:
Kardashian at the Off-White show three days before the robbery. Pic: Photo Image Press/Shutterstock

Will Kardashian give evidence?

Yes, Kardashian will face the robbers in court in May.

Lawyer Michael Rhodes said Kardashian has “tremendous appreciation and admiration for the French judicial system” and “wishes for the trial to proceed in an orderly fashion in accordance with French law and with respect for all parties to the case”.

A trainee lawyer herself, Kardashian has become a high-profile criminal justice advocate in the US in recent years.

(R-L)Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kris Jenner. Pic: Caroline Blumberg/EPA/Shutterstock
Image:
(R-L) Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kris Jenner in the front row three days before the robbery. Pic: Caroline Blumberg/EPA/Shutterstock

Why has it taken so long to come to court?

There was initially a manhunt after the robbery, with French police under pressure to prove that Paris’s security was not in question.

Just the year before in 2015, the capital had been shaken by terrorist attacks by Islamic militants, in which 130 people were killed, including 90 at a music event at the Bataclan theatre.

French police initially arrested 17 people in the Kardashian case in January 2017 – three months after the robbery – assisted by DNA traces found on plastic bands used to tie her wrists. Twelve people were later charged.

It was ordered to be sent to trial in 2021 – at a time when limited court proceedings were happening due to multiple COVID lockdowns, and France was holding its largest ever criminal trial over the November 2015 terror attacks.

Kardashian at the Givenchy show on the day of the robbery. Pic: Bukajlo Frederic/Sipa/Shutterstock
Image:
Kardashian at the Givenchy show on the day of the robbery. Pic: Bukajlo Frederic/Sipa/Shutterstock

What has Kardashian said about the incident?

Kardashian has described the robbery as a “life-changing” moment. She took three weeks away from filming her reality TV show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and took a three-month break from social media.

In a March 2017 episode titled Paris, Kardashian first spoke publicly about her ordeal.

She described first hearing a noise in her apartment, and calling out, thinking it was her sister and assistant: “At that moment when there wasn’t an answer, my heart started to get really tense. Like, you know, your stomach just kind of like, knots up and you’re like, ‘OK, what’s going on?’ I knew something wasn’t quite right.”

She went on: “They asked for money. I said, ‘I don’t have any money’. They dragged me out to the hallway on top of the stairs. That’s when I saw the gun, clear as day. I was looking at the gun, looking down back at the stairs. I was like, I have a split second in my mind to make this quick decision.

“Either they’re going to shoot me in the back or if I make it [down the stairs] and the elevator does not open in time or the stairs are locked, there’s no way out.”

Three months later, she told a Forbes Power Women’s Summit she had changed her approach to posting on social media: “They had followed my moves on social media, and they knew my every move and what I had.”

She added: “It was definitely a huge, huge, huge lesson for me to not show off some of the things that I have. It was a huge lesson to me to not show off where I go.

“It’s just changed my whole life, but I think for the better.”

West and Kardashian at the Off-White show three days before the robbery. Pic: Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock
Image:
West and Kardashian at the Off-White show three days before the robbery. Pic: Matteo Prandoni/BFA/Shutterstock

In October 2020, Kardashian told US interviewer David Letterman she feared she would be raped and murdered during the heist, and that her sister had been at the forefront of her mind during the incident.

Speaking on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Kardashian said: “I kept on thinking about Kourtney, I kept on thinking she’s going to come home and I’m going to be dead in the room and she’s going to be traumatised for the rest of her life if she sees me… I thought that was my fate.”

When speaking to French police about the impact the robbery had had on her three months after it, Kardashian said: “I think that my perception of jewellery now is that I am not as attached to it as I used to be. I don’t have the same feeling about it. In fact, I even think that it has become a bit of a burden to have the responsibility of such expensive jewels.

“There is nothing of sentimental value to compare with the act of going home and finding one’s children and one’s family.”

She went on to describe Paris as “not the right place” for her, and didn’t return to the French capital for two years following the robbery.

Kardashian has since said in a 2023 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians that she did not purchase any jewellery in the seven years following the robbery, kept no jewellery at her home and only wore items that are either borrowed or fake.

She said the realisation that material items don’t matter has made her “a completely different person in the best way”.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Badenoch demands prosecution of rap group Kneecap over ‘dead Tory’ remark

Published

on

By

Badenoch demands prosecution of rap group Kneecap over 'dead Tory' remark

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded the prosecution of rap trio Kneecap after video emerged of the band allegedly advocating for the death of Tory MPs.

Footage of the group at a November 2023 gig appears to show one member saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”

Downing Street has described the alleged comments as “completely unacceptable”.

Police are investigating – and are also assessing footage reportedly from a gig a year later in London’s Kentish Town Forum.

In the November 2024 video, a member of the band appears to shout “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” – referencing groups which are banned as terrorist organisations in the UK.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We were made aware of a video on 22 April, believed to be from an event in November 2024, and it has been referred to the counter-terrorism internet referral unit for assessment and to determine whether any further police investigation may be required.

“We have also been made aware of another video believed to be from an event in November 2023.”

Mrs Badenoch said it was “good” the police were looking into the allegations, adding: “Kneecap’s glorification of terrorism and anti-British hatred has no place in our society.

“Now footage shows one of them saying: ‘The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP’.

“After the murder of Sir David Amess, this demands prosecution.”

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaking at their local election campaign launch at The Curzon Centre in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. Picture date: Thursday March 20, 2025.
Image:
Kemi Badenoch. Pic: PA

Conservative MP Sir David was stabbed to death while meeting constituents in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in 2021.

Kneecap, made up of Liam Og O Hannaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, have said they are facing a “co-ordinated smear campaign” after speaking out about “the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people”.

Mrs Badenoch and Kneecap are already known to each other.

Read more from Sky News:
UK temperatures could hit 29C this week
M&S tells agency staff to stay at home

The Tory leader 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 them a £14,250 funding award after the UK government conceded it was “unlawful”.

Downing Street condemned the alleged comments.

“We do not think individuals expressing those views should be receiving government funding,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said.

Asked if the money should be returned, the spokesman added: “That’s up to the group, but clearly the PM rejects the views expressed … does not shy away from condemning them.”

Continue Reading

Trending