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Wireless Festival boss defends Kanye West appearance

The 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. Benn said he is a "deeply committed anti-fascist" and lived on a kibbutz for many months in the 1970s. He 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." 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.