Terror prosecution against Kneecap member dropped after CPS error
CAA: 'A lot of Jewish people are starting to throw up their hands in despair at the dire state of our criminal justice system, which clearly is incapable of protecting them.'
Jewish community groups have expressed their deep dismay at a terrorism case against a member of the notorious Irish band Kneecap being thrown out by the presiding magistrate, after permission was granted a day too late in giving permission for the prosecution to be taken forward.
Paul Goldspring, the chief magistrate at Woolwich Crown Court, described the proceedings against Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name of Mo Chara, as having been “instituted unlawfully and are null.”
Goldspring said the proceedings “were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary DPP and AG consent within the six-month statutory time limit set by section 127.” It is understood that the request for consent was only sent by the CPS to the Attorney General, Richard Hermer, a day after the six-month time limit.
Ó hAnnaidh had been accused of waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in Kentish Town in 2024. A band member was also alleged to have shouted “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.
Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. Apart from a genocidal obsession with Jews – its late leader, Hassan Nasrallah, reportedly once expressed the desire that Jews should move to Israel because it would save the group the trouble of going after them worldwide – it helped the Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, murder hundreds of thousands in Syria’s civil war.
The Jewish Leadership Council expressed deep disappointment at the outcome, saying: “British citizens, including Jews, have a right to expect that allegations involving proscribed, antisemitic terrorist organisations are prosecuted with the utmost care and legality.
“It is deeply disappointing that, in this instance, the charges have been found by a magistrate to be brought in a manner that renders them ‘unlawful.’
“We have a right to expect that serious offences involving proscribed terrorist organisations are prosecuted properly. When they are not, it risks leaving these offences unaddressed and undermines confidence in the rule of law.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism summed up how “the Chief Magistrate threw out the charge because the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had failed to get the consent of the Attorney General to bring the case”, describing it as “a matter of utter incompetence by the authorities.
“Here is a prime example of how difficult it is for British Jews to get justice in this country. Not long ago, the CPS dropped all charges after men drove through London in broad daylight with a megaphone shouting ‘F*** the Jews…rape their daughters.’ A lot of Jewish people are starting to throw up their hands in despair at the dire state of our criminal justice system, which clearly is incapable of protecting them.”
There was significant criticism from the Conservative front bench regarding the Attorney General’s role in the dropped prosecution. Robert Jenrick, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, said: “The failure to make a charging decision in time is pure incompetence. Lord Hemer needs to explain what on earth has happened here and who will be held accountable for this failure?”
However, Jenrick had previously attacked Hermer directly amid reports that the Attorney General himself was at fault, stating that he had “either displayed breathtaking levels of incompetence or his hard left politics have influenced his conduct. Every day Hermer is in post he brings fresh embarrassment to the Government.”
A Labour source hit back strongly, saying: “This is absolutely classic Jenrick. He has waded into an issue without understanding the basic facts, as usual, and has now had to change his public comments based on what he should’ve known before seeking the limelight.”
“His divisive rhetoric does a disservice to the Conservative Party – which used to pride itself on being the party of the rule of law – and displays a breath-taking ignorance of our legal system.”
Daniel Lambert, the band’s manager, celebrated the decision on social media, saying “We have won!!!!!!
“Liam Og 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. Free Palestine.”
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