One day after setting fire to Glastonbury’s West Holts Stage in a performance that was equal parts defiant and euphoric, Kneecap have been handed some long-awaited news: they won’t be prosecuted for their so-called “Kill your local MP” comment from a 2023 gig.
The Met confirmed to the Irish Times that after digging into the footage — which allegedly captured a member of the Belfast rap trio shouting, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP” — no further action will be taken. Why? Mostly because the statutory window to pursue “summary only” offences has closed. As for indictable ones? Not enough to go on.
The news arrives off the back of a tidal wave of controversy, with everyone from the Prime Minister down trying to have the trio booted from Glasto. But while Keir Starmer wagged his finger, Kneecap were on stage rallying the crowd with chants of “Free Mo Chara” and sticking two fingers up to the establishment that tried to cancel them.
“Glastonbury, I’m a free man,” Chara said mid-set, referencing the fact he’s currently out on unconditional bail for a separate terror charge involving an alleged Hezbollah flag. “The PM of your country said we shouldn’t be here – so fuck Keir Starmer.”
It was classic Kneecap: no apologies, no backpedalling, no bullshit. And it hit like a molotov lobbed straight into the comfort zone of middle England.
The group have long maintained that their statements are anti-imperialism, not incitement. Their latest PSA video, See It. Say It. Censored, dropped ahead of Glastonbury and made it crystal clear: they’re not the story — Gaza is.
So where does this leave things then? Mo Chara is still facing court in August over the Hezbollah charge. But for now, the state’s attempt to silence Kneecap has backfired in spectacular fashion. They’ve walked into one of the biggest festivals on earth, turned up the volume, and walked away unscathed — legally, politically, and most definitely culturally.
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