Kneecap's Mo Chara considering legal action against UK government

Kneecap's Mo Chara has said that he is considering legal action against the UK government after terror charges against him were thrown out of court last week.

Chara, real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, had been charged by anti-terror police earlier this year after a video resurfaced of him allegedly flying a Hezbollah flag at a London show in 2024.

Following a months-long court battle, which resulted in the Irish rap trio being banned from entering Canada and forced to cancel a string of US tour dates, the case was dismissed on Friday (September 26).

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Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring had deemed the case against Ó hAnnaidh "unlawful" and "null" due to a "technical blunder" from prosecutors, who had failed to file the charges before the six month limit. 

In an interview with Virgin Media News, Chara said he is "absolutely" looking into pursuing legal action against the British state due to the reputational damage and loss of earnings brought on by the case. 

"We've started proceedings already with Canada," he said. "Obviously, our profile has grown, but we haven't changed. We always have had a Palestinian flag on stage".

"It's a bad precedent if governments are gonna start cracking down on what artists can and can't say," he continues. "They were opening up a can of worms for themselves here." 

Read this next: Kneecap forced to cancel US tour dates as Mo Chara terrorism verdict delayed

“Kneecap has NO charges OR convictions in ANY country, EVER," Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert said in a statement following Friday's verdict. "Political policing has failed. Kneecap is on the right side of history. Britain is not. Free Palestine."

You can watch Virgin Media News' full interview with Mo Chara below. 

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter