Irish hip hop trio Kneecap will not face any charges for their comments against Conservative MPs
This case is separate from the ongoing case against group member, Mo Chara, where he was charged with terror offences for showing support for Hezbollah and Hamas, recognised terror organisations where expressing support for them is illegal in the UK. In a concert in November last year, Mo Chara was accused of displaying the flag for Hezbollah “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation.” According to prosecutors. As well as this, he was chanting “Up Hamas! Up Hezbollah!”
This article’s charge instead relates to alleged footage from 2023 of one band member saying “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”.
In a statement issued to The Irish Times by the Met Police last Sunday (29 June), they say: “A thorough investigation has now been completed by detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command, which included interviewing an individual under caution and seeking early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.
“A range of offences were considered as part of the investigation. However, given the time elapsed between the events in the video and the video being brought to police attention, any potential offences were beyond the statutory time limit for prosecution.
“Relevant indictable offences were considered by the investigation team and, based on all of the current evidence available, a decision has been made that no further action will be taken at this time.”
Kneecap’s controversies span beyond British Conservative MPs however, as Labour leader and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently urged for Kneecap to be banned from Glastonbury, where they performed last Saturday, 28 June. He told The Sun: “No, I don’t (think Kneecap should play), and I think we need to come down really clearly on this.
“This is about the threats that shouldn’t be made, I won’t say too much because there’s a court case on, but I don’t think that’s appropriate.”
Kneecap’s response to the PM’s comments went as follows: “You know what’s ‘not appropriate’ Keir?! Arming a fucking genocide… Fuck The Sun.” They then expressed solidarity with the organisation Palestine Action.
Kneecap have received an outpour of support from fans and musicians alike, including Pulp, Kae Tempest, CMAT and Massive Attack.
The band are due to perform their “biggest headline show outside of Ireland” on 18 September at the OVO Wembley Arena. You can find your tickets here.
