The terrorism case against Kneecap rapper Mo Chara has been thrown out after a technical error was found in the way the charges were brought against him.
Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at an O2 Forum gig in north London last year.
The Irish rapper, 27, has strenuously denied the charge, describing it as both ‘political policing’ and ‘a carnival of distraction’, adding that ‘genocide [is] the real story’.
On Friday morning at Woolwich Crown Court, chief magistrate Paul Goldspring stated that he agreed with Chara’s lawyer, who had argued that the case had been brought against the rapper unlawfully.
Mr Goldspring determined that the Attorney General had not given permission for the case to be brought against Chara when police informed him he was to face a terror charge on May 21.
Brenda Campbell KC, representing Chara, had said that consent was only given on the following day, which fell outside the six-month period in which criminal charges can be brought.
In his judgment, delivered before the courts this morning, Mr Goldspring said: ‘These proceedings were instituted unlawfully and are null.’
He added: ‘I find that these proceedings were not instituted in the correct form, lacking the necessary Director of Public Prosecutions and Attorney General consent within the six-month statutory time limit.’
Kneecap are no stranger to controversy, having also been investigated by police following their performance at Glastonbury Festival earlier this year.
This is a developing story.