Police have said they won’t prosecute a Kneecap rapper after he appeared to tell fans at a London concert to ‘kill your local MP’.
The Irish rap trio were filmed shouting ‘the only good Tory is a dead Tory’ while playing a gig in November 2023.
Metropolitan Police conducted a ‘thorough investigation’ after footage of the comments emerged in April but have determined offences were ‘beyond the statutory time limit for prosecution’.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is still being investigated after he allegedly displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in November last year.
And this weekend Sir Keir Starmer led outrage following anti-Israel charged performances by Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan at Glastonbury.
Speaking of its decision to drop charges over the ‘kill your MP’ jibe, the Met said: ‘A thorough investigation has now been completed by detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command, which included interviewing an individual under caution and seeking early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service.
‘A range of offences were considered as part of the investigation.
‘However, given the time elapsed between the events in the video and the video being brought to police attention, any potential summary only offences were beyond the statutory time limit for prosecution.
Videos emerged of a Kneecap gig at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London in November 2024 where one of the band members appeared to shout ‘up Hamas, up Hezbollah’, and was draped in the Hezbollah flag. There was also a chant of ‘ooh ahh Hezbollah’
In the video a member of Kneecap said: ‘We’re still under British occupation in Ireland. We still have old men in London making decisions that affect my life in Ireland. And even worse, they’re f***ing Tories’
DJ Provai from Irish Hip Hop trio Kneecap performs onstage during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 11, 2025
‘Relevant indictable offences were considered by the investigation team and, based on all of the current evidence available, a decision has been made that no further action will be taken at this time.’
Following the band’s comments, revealed by The Mail, Katie Amess, the daughter of the late Conservative MP David Amess who was killed by an ISIS fanatic in 2021, said the remarks were ‘extremely dangerous’.
She added: ‘It is just beyond belief that human beings would speak like that in this day and age and it is extremely dangerous. To say to kill anybody, what on earth are they thinking?
‘I’m sure deep down they are nice people, hopefully they just made a mistake and are going to apologise for it.’
Ms Amess also warned there were ‘absolute nutters’ who could try to act upon the comments.
Following the condemnation, Kneecap said in a statement on Instagram: ‘To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt.’
The group began by saying the video had been ‘deliberately taken out of all context’ and ‘establishment figures, desperate to silence us, have combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews’.
They added: ‘They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide.
Over Easter weekend Kneecap projected the slogans ‘Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinain people’ and ‘F*** Israel, Free Palestine’ while performing at the Coachella music festival in California
‘Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah.
‘We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history. We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever.
‘An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.’
At other gigs, Kneecap has led chants mocking Margaret Thatcher’s death and repeating the phrase ‘Brits out’.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh appeared in court earlier this month after being charged with terrorism offences over allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah while saying ‘up Hamas, up Hezbollah’.
And after the BBC announced they would not be broadcasting Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance live, punk duo Bob Vylan gave a controversial set on Saturday in which they led chants of ‘death to the IDF’ which were broadcast live on national television.
Sir Keir said he was ‘appalled’ by the negative comments on stage about the foreign army – which has been accused of war crimes – and the Conservative party went so far as to say BBC bosses should be prosecuted.
The US State Department is reportedly gearing up to revoke the band’s visas ahead of a forthcoming tour.
Band member DJ Provai, whose real name is JJ Ó Dochartaigh, removed a red boiler suit to reveal a Palestine Action t-shirt (pictured) – a group the government are preparing to ban under UK anti-terrorism laws
As Kneecap walked onto the stage, they played a compilation of their critics’ voices over the speakers. Pictured: Kneecap’s set at Glastonbury
Tensions had already been running high before Kneecap’s set began as they were directly preceded by the hip hop duo, Bob Vylan (pictured at Glastonbury this weekend)
The musician took to social media early on Sunday morning (pictured) to address the backlash to his performance
Detectives from Avon and Somerset Police, the force responsible for the policing of Glastonbury, are reviewing footage of the performance.
Sir Keir branded the comments ‘hate speech’.
He added: ‘I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.
‘The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.’
The BBC said: ‘Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive.
‘During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.’
The IDF is the national military of the state of Israel. Service is mandatory for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, though there are exemptions.
British citizens have also served in the forces. In April it was revealed 10 Brits who served with the military were facing accusations of war crimes by one of the UK’s leading human rights lawyers.
Allegations included deliberately shooting civilians, ‘running a bulldozer over a dead body’ and a vehicle demolishing part of a hospital.
