Kneecap rapper will not face terrorism trial after high court rejects CPS appeal | Kneecap
Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh will not face terrorism charges for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag during a concert after the high court in London upheld its decision to drop the case.
Ó hAnnaidh, 28, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged for allegedly carrying the banned group’s flag during a show at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November 2024.
Last September, chief justice Paul Goldspring dismissed the case against Ó hAnnaidh due to a filing error. In that judgment he said: “I consider that these proceedings have not been commenced properly and lack the necessary DPP. [director of public prosecutions] and AG [attorney general] Approval within the statutory time limit of six months set by section 127.
On Wednesday, two superior court judges, Mr Justice Edis and Mr Justice Linden, upheld Goldspring’s decision to find the charge unlawful. Ó hAnnaidh’s defense team, led by Brenda Campbell KC, argued that attorney general Richard Hermer did not allow the case to be opened when police informed Ó hAnnaidh he would face terrorism charges last May. The judges rejected the prosecution’s objection.
judgmentIn the article written by Edis, it was said: “We think that the first written accusation was made on May 21, 2025 and that this date is the date when the trial was initiated for the purpose of Tact. [Terrorism Act 2000]. This was an invalidity by virtue of the terms of sections 117(2) and (2A) of the Tact.
“It follows from this that no written charges have been made within 6 months from 21 September 2025 and the judge has the right to rule that he has no jurisdiction to try any summary offense alleged to have been committed on that date.”
Edis added: “It is worrying that a charge that both the DPP and the attorney general consider meets both parts of the full code test for crown prosecutors may now never be determined.
“They decided that there was a realistic prospect of conviction and that it was in the public interest to prosecute. We did not investigate the reasons for this failure and do not seek to place blame. This is not because those circumstances were not worth considering, but because they were irrelevant to our decision.”
“The defendant has not been and will not be tried for his alleged conduct. He has not been convicted and has not been acquitted.”
Kneecap are known for their provocative lyrics and merchandise, as well as their advocacy of the Irish language and pro-Palestinian stance, and for criticizing the UK government’s Gaza policy in their lyrics.
They posted on the group’s Instagram page: “Get in!!!!!! Knee caps: 3 Brit Government: 0. The world’s greatest terrorists are the leaders of the British state. Liberate Palestine. Liberate 6 countries.”
Following the ruling, a CPS spokesman said: “The high court has clarified how the law will apply to the issue of written charges in serial offences, where the attorney general’s permission is required for the director of public prosecutions to consent to a prosecution.
“We accept the decision and will update our processes accordingly.”
