Police drop investigation into Kneecap’s Glastonbury set
Avon and Somerset police said that having consulted the Crown Prosecution Service, there was 'insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence'
The police have dropped their investigation into Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance, citing “insufficient evidence” in their decision to take no further action.
Avon and Somerset police had previously announced that they had launched a criminal investigation into two performances at the UK’s biggest music festival; one by the Northern-Irish rap band, the other by punk-duo Bob Vylan.
However, on Friday the force said that there was “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”, having taken advice from the Crown Prosecution Service. They added that “Kneecap was informed of that decision earlier today.”
Kneecap have made regular headlines with regards to their anti-Israel stance over the last couple of years, with other controversial comments including a November 2023 performance during which one of the band said ““The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
The same member of the band, who performs under the name Mo Charah, was charged with a terror offence in May after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah. A video also appeared to show a band member shouting “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah.”
Prior to Glastonbury, the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary had condemned the festival’s organisers for failing to cancel the band’s performance. Unlike many other performances, the BBC did not livestream Kneecap’s set, but did livestream Bob Vylan’s set, failing to cut the live feed despite rants about “Zionists” and calls of “death to the IDF”. Avon and Somerset police confirmed that enquiries into Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance remain ongoing.
In a statement on their social media on Friday, Kneecap claimed that “every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“After the media damage is inflicted and seen by millions of eyes – you receive a private email to say there’s no evidence and no action – that is seen by two people only…We will continue to fight. We will continue to win.”
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