Kneecap rapper will not face terrorism trial after high court rejects CPS appeal

The Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh will not face a terrorism charge over allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag during a gig after the high court in London upheld a decision to throw out the case.Ó hAnnaidh, 28, who performs under the name Mo Chara, had been charged with the offence for allegedly displaying the flag of the proscribed group during a performance at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November 2024.Last September the chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, rejected the case due to a filing mistake in the way the case was brought against Ó hAnnaidh. In that ruling, he said: “I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] and AG [attorney general] consent within the six-month statutory timelimit set by section 127.”On Wednesday, two high court judges, Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Linden, upheld Goldspring’s decision to rule the charge unlawful. Ó hAnnaidh’s defence team, led by Brenda Campbell KC, argued that the attorney general, Richard Hermer, had not given permission for the case to be brought when police informed Ó hAnnaidh he was to face a terrorism charge last May. The judges dismissed the appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions.The judgment, written by Edis, said: “We consider that the first written charge was issued on 21 May 2025 and this was when the proceedings were instituted for the purposes of Tact [Terrorism Act 2000]. That was a nullity because of the terms of section 117(2) and (2A) of Tact.“It follows that no written charge was issued within 6 months of 21 September 2025 and the judge was right to hold that he had no jurisdiction to try any summary only offence alleged to have been committed on that date.”Edis added: “It is a matter of concern that a charge, which both the DPP and the attorney general considered met both parts of the full code test for crown prosecutors, will never now be determined.“There was, they decided, a realistic prospect of conviction and the prosecution was in the public interest. We have not investigated the reasons for this failure nor do we seek to attribute blame. That is not because these circumstances are not worthy of consideration but because they are irrelevant to our decision.“The respondent has not been tried for his alleged conduct and will not be tried. He has not been convicted, and he has not been acquitted.”Kneecap are known for their provocative lyrics and merchandise, as well as their championing of the Irish language and their pro-Palestine stance, and for criticising UK government policy on Gaza in their lyrics.On the group’s Instagram page, they posted: “Get in!!!!!! Kneecap: 3 Brit Govt: 0. The worlds biggest terrorists are the leaders of the British state. Free Palestine. Free the 6 counties.”After the decision, a CPS spokesperson said: “The high court has clarified how the law applies to the issuing of written charges in summary offences where attorney general permission was required for the Director of Public Prosecutions to consent to a prosecution.“We accept the judgment and will update our processes accordingly.”