Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh will not face a new trial on terrorism charges after judges at the High Court in London 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 accused of displaying a flag in support of proscribed terror organisation Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, on 21 November 2024.
However, the case was thrown out in September last year, with chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruling the proceedings were "instituted unlawfully".
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) appealed against the decision at the High Court at a hearing in January, with the Kneecap rapper opposing the appeal.
In a judgment today, two judges at the High Court upheld the decision and dismissed the CPS appeal.
The band held a press conference in Conway Mill in West Belfast after the judgment was published.
Speaking about the impact of the charge and the legal process that followed Mr Ó hAnnaidh said it was "slightly stressful" adding "but we'll get over it."
He said that they had "lost gigs" and "been restricted from [their] movement in certain places because this was hanging over us".
But he said "whatever about the stress that we felt, it's minimal compared to the stress being put on families in Gaza."
In today's ruling, Judge Goldspring had agreed with Mr Ó hAnnaidh's lawyers that prosecutors needed to seek the Attorney General’s permission to charge the rapper before informing him on 21 May that he would be charged with a terror offence.
Watch: 'This entire process was never about me...it was always about Palestine' - Ó hAnnaidh
This permission was sought and given the following day, which the court heard meant the charge fell outside the six-month time frame in which criminal charges against a defendant can be brought.
Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Linden, said in today's decision that "the judge was right to hold that he had no jurisdiction to try any summary-only offence alleged to have been committed on that date".
He said: "The respondent has not been tried for his alleged conduct on September 21 2025 and will not be tried.
"He has not been convicted, and he has not been acquitted."
Following the decision, a CPS spokesperson said: "The High Court has clarified how the law applies to the issuing of written charges in summary offences where Attorney General permission was required for the Director of Public Prosecutions to consent to a prosecution.
"We accept the judgment and will update our processes accordingly."
Read/watch: 'We'll continue to be a headache', vows Kneecap's Ó hAnnaidh
Speaking at Conway Mill in West Belfast, Mr Ó hAnnaidh also said: "Finally we can maybe move on, start to apply for visas again now that this is over and continue to use whatever platform we have to continue to talk about Gaza, Iran, Cuba or whatever it is that is the topic of the day because as lads from West Belfast we're not going to shy away from this stuff".
Kneecap Manager Daniel Lambert confirmed that the band are performing in Cuba next week.
When the band was asked if they would pursue costs for lack of income Kneecap's solicitor Darragh Macken said: "To be fair I think the judgment is embarrassing enough for them" but he added "like anything we will take time to consider the judgment and we have given and will give consideration to the next steps."
In an earlier statement issued through his lawyers after the judgement, Mr Ó hAnnaidh said: "I owe eternal gratitude to my legal team, who left no stone unturned in ensuring justice was upheld.
"This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about 'terrorism', a word used by the British government to discredit people you oppress both in Ireland and across the world.
"It was always about Palestine and about what happens if you dare to speak up. About what happens if you can reach large groups of people and expose their hypocrisy.
"I will not be silent. Kneecap will not be silent."
Kneecap's solicitor Darragh Mackin, from Phoenix Law, said in a statement: "In times of political pressure and provocation, the rule of law must prevail.
"The rule of law cannot be clearer - the prosecution of Mo Chara was unlawful from its very inception.
"This prosecution was a legally laughable witch-hunt. A witch-hunt that was born at Coachella, cultivated in Westminster, comes to an end in West Belfast."
Mr Mackin added: "There are better ways to spend British pounds than pointless prosecutions and pursuing expensive appeals.
"Today’s decision brings this expensive circus to an end."
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Additional reporting by Laura Fletcher
