UK police to take no action against Kneecap after ‘terrorism’ investigation

Irish trio calls probe ‘state intimidation’ aft set subordinate taken to tribunal implicit pro-Palestine connection astatine Glastonbury.

Police successful the United Kingdom person decided not to instrumentality immoderate further enactment against Kneecap successful a lawsuit related to the Irish hip-hop trio’s opposition to Israel.

Avon and Somerset constabulary said successful a connection connected Friday that they carried retired an probe implicit the euphony group’s show astatine Glastonbury Festival connected June 28 and sought proposal from the Crown Prosecution Service.

“We person made the determination to instrumentality nary further enactment connected the grounds determination is insufficient grounds to supply a realistic imaginable of condemnation for immoderate offence,” it said, adding that it has informed the set astir the decision.

Kneecap, which has repeatedly taken a pro-Palestine stance during their shows and online, confirmed they were informed astir the determination via a representative.

“Every azygous idiosyncratic who saw our acceptable knew nary instrumentality was broken, not adjacent close,” they said successful a station online, saying the probe amounted to “state intimidation”.

One constituent of the governmental policing intimidation effort is over.

We played a historical acceptable astatine Glastonbury. Whole country closed an hr earlier owed to crowds. A solemnisation of emotion and solidarity. A oversea of bully radical astatine the world's astir celebrated festival.

Shortly afterwards we… pic.twitter.com/S0BsMeOM83

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) July 18, 2025

A subordinate of the set had been charged with a “terrorism” offence for waving a emblem of the Lebanese radical Hezbollah astatine a performance successful London successful November 2024.

The Belfast-based trio had besides been linking the struggles of the Irish nether British assemblage regularisation to those of Palestinians surviving nether Israeli concern and siege for decades, and has been known for its governmental and satirical lyrics.

Avon and Somerset constabulary said successful their connection that an probe is ongoing successful narration to abstracted comments made connected signifier by rap-punk duo Bob Vylan.

Bob Vylan has besides been supporting Palestinians and utilized the UK’s largest summertime euphony festival successful precocious June to pb the crowds successful chanting against the Israeli military.

The duo chanted “death” to the Israeli service and “free Palestine”, starring to a transgression probe by British police.

After the performance, which pro-Israel voices branded arsenic “anti-Semitic”, UK broadcaster BBC said it would nary longer live-broadcast philharmonic performances deemed “high risk”.

The British government, a staunch protagonist of Israel and a major arms provider to its Israeli military, besides called the chants “appalling hatred speech”.

Authorities successful the United States revoked the visas of the musicians, who rejected being against immoderate spiritual groups and said they are successful favour of “dismantling a convulsive subject machine” that has destroyed overmuch of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli subject has killed astatine slightest 58,667 Palestinians successful the besieged enclave since October 2023, and wounded astir 140,000 others, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. About 20,000 children are among those killed.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies