Kneecap verdict: Case 'will raise concerns for many people', say DUP
The outcome of a terror case faced by a member of Kneecap will “raise concerns for many”, the DUP has said.
The party’s MLA Gareth Wilson spoke out after High Court judges were critical of the handling of the case, describing it as a “failure” that a charge for which authorities believed there was “a realistic prospect of conviction and the prosecution was in the public interest” won’t be determined due to a technicality.
Said Newry and Armagh representative Mr Wilson: “Issues involving the alleged promotion or glorification of terrorism must always be taken seriously by those whose job it is to uphold the law of the land.
“People in Northern Ireland know the devastating impact terrorism has had on families and communities. Support for proscribed terrorist organisations should never be normalised, excused or treated as entertainment.”
Kneecap’s manager, diplomat turned Chief Commercial Officer of an Irish premier division football club Daniel Lambert, yesterday afternoon told a press conference they estimate over £1m was “wasted” on the case.
He alleged the legal proceedings had been a “distraction”, “political policing” and a “smokescreen” when Gaza “is the story”.
The band’s lawyer, Darragh Mackin from Phoenix Law, labelled the prosecution “a legally laughable witch-hunt” and “an expensive circus”.
“The rule of law cannot be clearer,” he said in a statement. “The prosecution of Mo Chara was unlawful from its very inception.
“There are better ways to spend British pounds than pointless prosecutions and pursuing expensive appeals.”
Rapper Mo Chara, real name Liam Og O hAnnaidh, 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, on November 21, 2024.
But the case was thrown out on a technicality in September last year, with chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruling the proceedings were “instituted unlawfully”.
He had agreed with O hAnnaidh’s lawyers that prosecutors needed to seek the Attorney General’s permission to charge the rapper before informing him that he would be charged with a terror offence. Permission was instead sought the following day, which fell outside a six-month time limit for charges to be brought – leading to the court deciding the case had to be thrown out.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) appealed against the decision; in a verdict today, two High Court judges upheld the original ruling and dismissed the appeal.
Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Linden, said in their decision that the rapper “has not been tried for his alleged conduct and will not be tried”, adding: “He has not been convicted, and he has not been acquitted.”