Kneecap have hit back at Keir Starmer, after the Prime Minister said that what they stand for is “completely intolerable” following the government losing a court appeal.
The PM made the comments against the Irish hip-hop trio following the High Court dismissing a terror charge against one of its members, and rejecting an appeal by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Mo Chara (real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh), was charged with the offence for allegedly displaying the flag of Hezbollah – a proscribed organisation – and shouting “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah,” during a gig at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town in November 2024.
The band continuously denied supporting either Hamas or Hezbollah, argued that the footage from the gig had been taken out of context, and described the legal action as a “carnival of distraction”.
Ó hAnnaidh also maintained that he didn’t know what the flag was when he picked it up, and the band went on to make three appearances in court, inviting fans and supporters to gather outside.
A decision to throw the charges out was reached in September, and decided due to technicalities relating to the way in which the case was brought about.
An appeal was then made by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in January, but thrown out on Wednesday (March 11) after two high court judges stood by the initial decision to rule the charge unlawful.
Fuck Keir Starmer
– A man who couldn’t get us cancelled from Glasto
– A man who couldn’t beat us in court
– A man who has destroyed the Labour Party
– A man whose government supports war criminals in Israel with weapons and intelligence https://t.co/J7UJqgy9yi
— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) March 12, 2026
Following the latest update, Starmer has said that the CPS will be “very carefully” examining the decision, and told the press during his visit to Belfast what he thinks of the hip-hop trio.
“My views on Kneecap are very well known in relation to what they stand for and what they say, which is completely intolerable,” he said. “I think the CPS were obviously subject to the High Court decision and they will be looking at the judgment very carefully.”
The band then took to X/Twitter to respond to his comments, and hit out at the PM for his involvement with Israel.
“Fuck Keir Starmer, a man who couldn’t get us cancelled from Glasto,” they wrote, referring to his push to have them kicked off the 2025 line-up for their vocal support of Palestine.
“A man who couldn’t beat us in court, a man who has destroyed the Labour Party, [and a] man whose government supports war criminals in Israel with weapons and intelligence,” they added.
The update on X follows the band sharing their thoughts on the court’s decision to dismiss the CPS appeal. At a press conference in Belfast, Ó hAnnaidh said the case should not distract from the plight of those in Palestine.
Get in!!!!!!
Kneecap: 3
Brit Govt: 0The worlds biggest terrorists are the leaders of the British state.
Free Palestine
Free the 6 counties pic.twitter.com/9EXgLA87Ef— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) March 11, 2026
“This is bigger than us. Whatever kind of stress that we felt, it’s minimal compared to the stress put on the families in Gaza. We’ll continue to use whatever platform we have to talk about Gaza,” he said, looking back at how they lost multiple opportunities to play live due to their political stance. “We don’t give a fuck about the repercussions any more.”
The band’s solicitor, Darragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, added that the case was “a legally laughable witch-hunt”. He said: “There are better ways to spend British pounds than pointless prosecutions and pursuing expensive appeals. Today’s decision brings this expensive circus to an end.”
Kneecap’s latest tweet is far from the first time that they have hit out at the PM. Last summer, they responded to Starmer’s initial call for them to be axed from Glasto ’25, writing: “You know what’s ‘not appropriate’ Keir?! Arming a fucking genocide.” Later, they also hit out at the PM during their performance on the West Holts stage.
When speaking to NME last year, Starmer doubled down on his stance against Kneecap, and explained why he spoke out in an attempt to have them booted from the festival line-up.
“Kneecap shouldn’t be performing at Glastonbury, and I don’t support inciting violence as free speech,” he said. “I think it’s important that we distinguish the issues we all care about and should be spoken about freely on the one hand, and then the incitement to violence on the other. They’re two different things.”
His stance was opposed by Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who recently told NME that it was “not [Starmer’s] place to say” whether or not the band could perform.
“Free speech comes with responsibility and I’m sure sometimes people will be offended. When it’s hate speech and harassment, there’s a very clear line there,” he said. “The Glastonbury example just felt outrageous; Kneecap were speaking out against the genocide.
“Lots of people in polling agree with that position. The idea of censoring them at Glastonbury or not streaming them on iPlayer because people might be offended by them speaking the truth about foreign policy just felt like a real step down for the discourse.”
Kneecap hit out at the PM again at the start of the year, when they dropped the single ‘Liars Tale’, which called him a “scumbag”. That song will feature on their new album ‘FENIAN’, which is out via Heavenly Recordings on April 24.
Since they dropped that track in January, the trio have shared another new song called ‘Smugglers & Scholars’, and also announced that they would be joining the Nuestra América Convoy to Cuba next week.
The latter is an international plan to deliver aid to the country in response to the country’s ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis at the hands of the Trump administration.
Last September, Kneecap played a huge headline show at Wembley Arena, which was given a glowing five-star review from NME. “You don’t pull off a gig like that on controversy alone,” it read. “You need bangers and you need a culture to fill this room. Kneecap have all that, and they’re a fucking good laugh.
“There’s no call for violence, there’s nothing that should land someone in front of a judge, just solidarity and a rave against the dying of the light.”
