Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh will not face a new terror trial after judges at the High Court rejected a Crown Prosecution Service appeal against the decision to throw out the case.The rapper, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May 2025 with the alleged display of a flag in support of the proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah at a gig in London on 21 November 2024.
But the case against the Belfast-born Kneecap rapper was dismissed last September on technical grounds.At the time, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring told Woolwich Crown Court that the charge was “unlawful” and he had no jurisdiction to try the case – but prosecutors appealed against the decision.The High Court ruling by Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Linden was handed down remotely on Wednesday afternoon.
After O hAnnaidh was charged, he first appeared in court in June.At a second hearing in August, the rapper’s lawyers argued prosecutors should have sought the permission of the attorney general, the chief legal adviser to the Crown, to charge him with a terror offence before informing him of the decision on 21 May last year.This permission was instead given the following day, which meant it fell outside the six-month timeframe in which criminal charges against a defendant can be brought for this type of offence, the court was told.This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Jattvibe app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.