Kneecap: No action to be taken over Glastonbury performance
Police drop investigation into Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance
Ross McKee and Nalina Eggert
BBC News NI
EPA/Shutterstock
Police who were investigating Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury will not take any further action.
Last month, a criminal investigation was launched by Avon and Somerset Police into performances by the Irish language rap trio at the music festival.
It said it had appointed a senior detective to investigate whether comments made on stage amounted to a criminal offence after reviewing footage.
On Friday, the force said detectives had sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service and chosen not to take any further action against Kneecap on the grounds that there was “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
“Kneecap was informed of that decision earlier today (Friday 18 July),” it added.
“Enquiries continue to be carried out in relation to separate comments made on stage during Bob Vylan’s performance.”
The force have also been investigating English punk-rap duo Bob Vylan’s performance.
Police did not specify which part of Bob Vylan’s or Kneecap’s sets were subject to criminal investigation.
But in an earlier statement they said they had recorded them as a public order incident.
Kneecap had faced weeks of controversy over their pro-Palestinian stance, with Sharon Osbourne calling for their US visas to be revoked over messages they displayed on stage at Coachella.
The question over whether Kneecap should even perform at Glastonbury drew comment over the weeks before the festival, with even the prime minister stepping in to say he did not think it was “appropriate”.
Group member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh had appeared in court charged with a terror offence, related to allegedly displaying a flag at a gig in November in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah.
He denies the charge.
Kneecap did perform but the BBC did not livestream their performance.
Bob Vylan, whose set was broadcast live, led the crowd at the festival in chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called the scenes “appalling and unacceptable”, and the BBC apologised for not cutting the feed.
