Kneecap’s Mo Chara terrorism case thrown out

Terrorism charges against the Kneecap rapper Mo Chara, real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, have been thrown out by the chief magistrate due to a technical error.

Ó hAnnaidh had been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig in London last November, but the chief magistrate at Woolwich Crown Court, Paul Goldspring, has now agreed with the rapper’s defence team that there was a legal error in the way that the charge was brought against him.

They argued that the attorney general, Richard Hermer, had not given permission for the case to be brought against Ó hAnnaidh police told him he was to face a terrorism charge in May of this year.

Goldspring agreed with this argument and ruled that the charge against the artist was “unlawful” and “null”. Sharing the reasons for his decision, he added: “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 time limit set by section 127.”

He continued: “The time limit requires consent to have been granted at the time or before the issue of the requisition. Consequently the charge is unlawful and null and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge.”

Michael Bisgrove, acting on behalf of the prosecution, previously told a court that permission from the DPP and AG was not required until Ó hAnnaidh’s first court appearance and that permission did not need to be sought in order to bring a criminal charge. The chief magistrate dismissed this argument, however, and said that it “defied logic”.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it was “reviewing the decision of the court carefully”, and did not rule out an appeal.

Outside the court, Mr Ó hAnnaidh said: “This entire process was never about me. It was never about any threat to the public, it was never about terrorism – a word used by your government to discredit people you oppress. It was always about Gaza, about what happens if you dare to speak up. Your attempts to silence us have failed because we’re right and you’re wrong.”

In a post on social media, Kneecap manager Daniel Lambert said: “We have won. Liam Óg is a free man. We said we would fight them and win. We did (Twice). Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER. Political policing has failed. Kneecap is on the right side of history. Britain is not.”

Northern Ireland’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill, also welcomed the ruling. In a post on X, she said: “All charges have been dropped against Kneecap’s Mo Chara. I strongly welcome this decision. These charges were part of a calculated attempt to silence those who stand up and speak out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

“Kneecap have used their platform on stages across the world to expose this genocide, and it is the responsibility of all of us to continue speaking out and standing against injustice in Palestine.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “We are aware of the decision by the court in relation to this case. We will work with the CPS to understand the potential implications of this ruling for us and how that might impact on the processing of such cases in the future.”

The charges against Ó hAnnaidh were originally brought in May and described by the group at the time as “a carnival of distraction”.

The group have subsequently been banned from entering Canada and Hungary due to the proceedings, and also cancelled a run of US tour dates due to take place through October.