The Director of Public Prosecutions has conceded that the collapse of the case against Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh was “embarrassing” for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), while asserting that they had “learned our lessons”.
Appearing before the Commons Justice Committee, Stephen Parkinson also dismissed claims that the missed deadline for securing the Attorney General’s permission to charge the rapper was orchestrated “accidentally on purpose” by someone within the CPS.
Mr O hAnnaidh, known by his stage name Mo Chara, had been accused of displaying a flag in support of the proscribed terror organisation Hezbollah during a concert at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, on 21 November 2024.
However, the case was dismissed in September last year, with the magistrate ruling that the proceedings were “instituted unlawfully”. The CPS subsequently appealed against this decision at the High Court, but their challenge was ultimately rejected.
The judge concurred with Mr O hAnnaidh’s legal team that prosecutors were required to obtain the Attorney General’s permission to charge the rapper before informing him on May 21 that he would face a terror offence.
This permission was sought and given the following day, which the court heard meant the charge fell outside the six-month timeframe in which criminal charges against a defendant can be brought.
Mr Parkinson said the CPS had since introduced a “flag” on its system in response to the error, adding he hoped automation would prevent something similar happening in the future.
When it was put to him that the case was “embarrassing to the service”, he said: “I agree … but it was a summary only (less serious criminal) matter, which is why the problem arose.
“It only came to us for early advice some three weeks before the expiry of the deadline, and that was for early advice from the police.
“I think we actually got the file of evidence something like 48 hours before the expiry of the deadline, and then we turned it around in 24 hours.
“So, we weren’t stroking our chins for six months staring into the middle distance.
“It’s one of those cases which arrived very much at the last minute, and I’m afraid an error was made, but it was an uncomfortable experience.”
He added: “I had an uncomfortable conversation with the Attorney General, as you would expect me to have, but I feel we have learned our lessons from that.”
Questioned further on the issue, Conservative MP Sir Ashley Fox asked Mr Parkinson: “Do you think it was an accident, or do you think it was accidentally on purpose by someone somewhere in the chain who didn’t want this prosecuted?”
He responded: “I have got no reason to think it was anything other than an accident.”
Sir Ashley then said it seemed a “remarkable coincidence that in this controversial case, someone forgot to ask the Attorney General in time”.
Responding, Mr Parkinson emphasised evidence had arrived at a “very, very late stage, adding: “I’m afraid, just drawing on many years of experience practising criminal law, it is invariably cock-up, not conspiracy.”
Sir Keir Starmer called for Kneecap not to play at the Glastonbury festival in 2025 following Mr O hAnnaidh’s initial court appearance.
The band have since appeared to mock the Prime Minister, including bidding him farewell in Irish after he announced his resignation as leader of the Labour Party.
