The Prime Minister has branded the views of Irish language rap trio Kneecap as "completely intolerable", following a High Court decision to dismiss a terror charge against one of its members.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, known by his stage name Mo Chara, had faced accusations of displaying a flag in support of the proscribed terror organisation Hezbollah during a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, on November 21 2024.
The case against the rapper was initially thrown out in September last year, with chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruling that the proceedings were "instituted unlawfully". This decision stemmed from an agreement with O hAnnaidh’s lawyers that prosecutors had failed to seek the Attorney General’s permission before informing him on May 21 that he would be charged with a terror offence.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) subsequently appealed against this ruling at the High Court in January. However, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, two judges upheld the original decision, dismissing the CPS appeal.
Sir Keir Starmer indicated that the CPS would be examining the High Court’s judgment "very carefully" in light of the ongoing legal scrutiny surrounding the group.
This permission was sought and given the following day, which the court heard meant the charge fell outside the six-month time frame in which criminal charges against a defendant can be brought.
Asked during a visit to Belfast about the decision to bring the case against the group member, Sir Keir said: “My views on Kneecap are very well known in relation to what they stand for and what they say, which is completely intolerable.
“I think the CPS were obviously subject to the High Court decision and they will be looking at the judgment very carefully.”
In a statement released after the judgment on Wednesday, O hAnnaidh said: “This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about ‘terrorism’, a word used by the British Government to discredit people you oppress both in Ireland and across the world.
“It was always about Palestine and about what happens if you dare to speak up. About what happens if you can reach large groups of people and expose their hypocrisy.
“I will not be silent. Kneecap will not be silent.”
