Belfast rap group Kneecap will face no further action following an investigation into their performance at Glastonbury festival, police have said. The band had led chants including “Fuck Keir Starmer” during their set on the West Holts stage on 28 June.
Avon and Somerset police said detectives sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service and concluded there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence. The force added that inquiries continue into separate comments made during a performance by Bob Vylan, which preceded Kneecap’s set.
In response, Kneecap said “one element of the political policing intimidation attempt is over”. The group stated on X: “We played a historic set at Glastonbury. Whole area closed an hour before due to crowds. A celebration of love and solidarity. A sea of good people at the world’s most famous festival.”
One Kneecap member, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, known as Mo Chara, has been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly holding a Hezbollah flag at a London gig last November. The 27-year-old denies the charge and is to appear in court in August.
During Bob Vylan’s performance, Pascal Robinson-Foster, who performs as Bobby Vylan, led chants of “Death, death to the IDF” and spoke of working for a “fucking Zionist”. In a statement, Bob Vylan said they are “not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people” but for “the dismantling of a violent military machine”.
