The boss of Wireless Festival has defended booking Kanye West as a headliner, asking for the public to ‘forgive’ the controversial rapper for his ‘abhorrent’ anti-semitic comments.

Melvin Benn, the managing director at Festival Republic, which organises Wireless, encouraged people to give West a ‘second chance’ after the star’s scheduled appearance in July sparked a furious backlash.

West, now known as Ye, apologised in January after a period of spewing racist hate, and even released a song called Heil Hitler and sold swastika T-shirts. He blamed his outbursts on his bipolar disorder. 

Following the announcement that West would be headlining all three nights of Wireless in London this summer, brands including Pepsi, Rockstar Energy, PayPal and Diageo pulled out as sponsors of the event. 

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also described the prospect of West headlining as ‘deeply concerning’ and ministers are reviewing if the rapper should be allowed to enter the UK.

But Mr Benn has refused to back down – explaining he overcame initial feelings of ‘disgust’ at the idea of West performing and that others should do the same.

In a lengthy statement released on Monday evening, he said: ‘Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world.’

Mr Benn added: ‘I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.’

Mr Benn’s intervention appears to be an attempt to divert disaster, though incredibly he has not bowed to the pressure to remove West from the lineup.

Addressing the rapper’s recent history of vile anti-semitic rants and lyrics, Mr Benn said: ‘What Ye has said in the past about Jews and Hitler is as abhorrent to me as it is to the Jewish community, the Prime Minister and others that have commented and – taking him at his word – to Ye now also.’

He insisted he is ‘pro Jew and the Jewish state, while being equally committed to a Palestinian state’, and cited his experience living on a kibbutz for some months in the 1970s.

The director also said that in his personal life he has seen how mental illness can cause bouts of ‘despicable behaviour’, but that he has had to ‘forgive and move on’.

Mr Benn continued: ‘Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country. 

‘He is intended to come in and perform. We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions.’

West has drawn widespread criticism in recent years after he began voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler and made a series of anti-Semitic remarks.

He is set to top the bill for all three nights of Wireless Festival in London’s Finsbury Park in July.

PayPal and Rockstar Energy Drinks on Monday announced they were parting ways with the festival over West’s involvement, following the lead of Pepsi and drinks giant Diageo on Sunday.

This plunged the festival deeper into chaos, leaving it without a flagship sponsor and the prospect of a raft of other companies withdrawing their backing.

The rapper also wanted to perform at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium during his tour of the UK but the club rejected his request.

Sadiq Khan also blocked him from a show at West Ham’s London Stadium amid community concerns and fears it would cause reputational risk for London.

The PM himself joined criticism of Wireless saying it is ‘deeply concerning’ that West is due to perform ‘despite his previous anti-Semitic remarks and celebration of Nazism’.

Sir Keir is now under growing pressure to take legal steps to ensure West can’t enter the UK ahead of his summer gigs.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has powers to ‘exclude’ someone from Britain if they are not considered conducive to the public good.

This can include those who have ‘engaged in extremism or other unacceptable behaviour’, or someone who ‘if admitted to the UK the person is likely to incite public disorder’.

A person does not need to have a criminal conviction to be refused admission on non-conducive grounds, according to Home Office guidance.

Senior Tory MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, wrote to Ms Mahmood on Monday to use her powers to block West from entering the UK.

He wrote: ‘Given his repeated anti-Semitic remarks, including statements expressing sympathy for Nazi ideology, his return to the UK is deeply concerning.

‘This is not a one-off lapse, but a pattern of behaviour that has caused real offence and distress to Jewish communities.

‘His partial apologies have been retracted in the past and do not atone for what he has said.’

Mr Philp added: ‘At a time when anti-Semitism is rising in the UK, allowing someone with this track record to headline a major public event sends entirely the wrong message.’

In a post on X, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said last week: ‘The PM is right to be deeply concerned that Wireless Festival wants to headline someone whose anti-Jewish bigotry has gone as far as recording a track titled ‘Heil Hitler’ less than a year ago.

‘But the PM is not a bystander. The Government can ban anyone from entering the UK who is not a citizen and whose presence would ‘not be conducive to the public good’. Surely this is a clear case.’

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey also called on the Government to ban West from the UK. ‘We need to get tougher on anti-Semitism,’ he said.

Lord Austin of Dudley described the possibility of the rapper being ‘cheered by thousands of kids’ on a UK stage a ‘complete disgrace’.

The ex-Labour MP, who is the UK’s trade envoy to Israel, told The Telegraph: ‘The organisers should cancel his invitation and if not, the council should not allow the festival to go ahead.

‘But either way the Government should prevent him from coming to the UK.’

Nimco Ali, a former Government adviser, called on Wireless to reverse its decision to book West ‘immediately’.

She said: ‘Allowing Kanye West entry into the country risks giving him a platform to amplify hate on British soil.’

Ms Ali added that ‘accountability is not persecution’, and that racism should be condemned ‘in all its forms’.

She also said, if Britain is serious about protecting its Jewish community, then it must be clear that there ‘is no place for this kind of hatred’ on British soil.

West has not performed in the UK since he headlined Glastonbury in 2015.

Last year, he released a song called Heil Hitler, a few months after advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website.

He has been barred from social media site X over anti-Semitism on multiple occasions.

West is said, as of last week, to have not yet made a visa application for his trip to the UK.