Wireless Festival boss defends Kanye West appearance

Wireless Festival boss defends Kanye West appearanceJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleBBCThe managing director of Wireless Festival has defended the decision to choose Kanye West as a headliner, encouraging people to offer the rapper "forgiveness".It follows backlash over West's scheduled appearance in July, which has seen sponsors such as Pepsi pull out of the event and criticism from politicians. The star released a song called Heil Hitler and sold swastika T-shirts last year. He later apologised and blamed his bipolar disorder.Melvin Benn, managing director at Festival Republic, said: "Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world."The government is reviewing whether West should be allowed to enter the UK. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.