London - British police said on Thursday that counter-terrorism detectives will investigate comments from Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, which has been criticized by British politicians for their remarks about Middle East and British politics.

The Irish language rapper from Northern Ireland reportedly recorded with police at a concert in 2024, in which one of the band members seemed to say: "The only good Conservative party is the dead Conservative party. Kill your local MP." Video of another concert in 2023 seemed to show a member of the trio shouting "Hamas, Hizbola" - both of which are banned in the UK

The Metropolitan Police Force in London said the videos were referred by expert officials to the Counter-Terrorism Internet Recommendation Unit for evaluation, and they determined there was a further investigation based on potential crimes related to the two videos.

"The investigation is being conducted by officials from the Metropolitan Counter-Terrorism Command and inquiries are still underway," the force said in a statement.

The Belfast trio is known for its ironic lyrics and symbolism associated with the Irish Republican movement, which attempts to unite Northern Ireland (currently part of the UK) with the Republic of Ireland. More than 3,600 people have died in Northern Ireland's thirty years of violence involving Irish Republican militia, pro-British loyalist militia and British security forces.

The government and opposition MPs criticized Kneecap's comments this week in the House of Commons, noting that two members of the parliament have been murdered since 2016.

In a statement on Instagram, band members Liam Og O Hannaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and Jj O Dochartaigh apologized to the family of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was killed by a far-right attacker in 2016 and conservative lawmaker David Amess was murdered by IS supporters in 2021.

"We never intended to hurt you," the organization said.

Kneecap said it “never supported Hamas or Hezbollah” and accused “institutional figures” of commenting from the context to “create moral hysteria” because of the band’s criticism of Israel’s attack on Palestinians in Gaza.

Several Kneecap shows have been cancelled due to controversy, and some British MPs have called on organizers of the June Glastonbury Festival to cancel the group's planned performance.

The musicians came to the rapper's defense. Dozens of performers, including British rock band Primitive Scream, Irish band Fontaines DC and Mod singer Paul Weller, signed an open letter criticizing "clear, consistent censorship attempts to censor and ultimately remove alternatives" and opposing "political suppression of artistic freedom."