Appeal against decision to throw out Kneecap terror case due to be heard

By Callum Parke, Press Association Law Reporter

An appeal against a judge’s decision to throw out the terrorism case against Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh is set to be heard at the UK High Court on Wednesday.

The rapper, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was accused of displaying a flag in support of proscribed terror organisation Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November 2024.

But the case was thrown out on technical grounds in September last year, with chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruling that the proceedings were “instituted unlawfully”.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced the following month that it would appeal against the decision, stating that the case involved an “important point of law which needs to be clarified”.

O hAnnaidh is opposing the appeal, with Kneecap stating last year that “we will win again."

The appeal is set to be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday, with the hearing before Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Linden due to start at 10.30am.

Prosecutors had alleged that O hAnnaidh could be seen in a recording of the gig in 2024, which showed him wearing and displaying the flag of Hezbollah while saying “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

But Brenda Campbell KC, for O hAnnaidh, told a hearing last August that the Attorney General (AG) had not given permission for the case to be brought against the defendant when police informed him he was to face a terror charge on May 21st.

She said consent was given the following day, which meant the charge fell outside the six-month timeframe in which criminal charges against a defendant can be brought.

Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove said that permission from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) – who heads the CPS – and the AG was not required until the defendant’s first court appearance, and that permission did not need to be sought in order to bring a criminal charge.

But in his ruling, Mr Goldspring cited law which states any offence under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 “shall not be instituted in England and Wales without the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions” where the alleged offence is “wholly or partly connected with the affairs” of another country.

Officers may contest the ruling if they consider the case, which centres on Hezbollah, does not concern the affairs of a foreign state.

The charge is unlawful and null, and this court has no jurisdiction to try the charge

Mr Goldspring also said that the CPS’ arguments “defy logic”.

He said: “I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP and AG consent within the six-month statutory time limit.

“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.”

After the CPS announced its appeal, Kneecap said in a social media post: “Once again, this is a massive waste of taxpayers’ money, of police time, of court time.

“Once again, there are endless news reports about Mo Chara, about Kneecap, but we are NOT the story.

“We will fight you in your court again. We will win again.”