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The band Kneecap will face no further action following an investigation into their performance at Glastonbury festival, police have said.
Inquiries were continuing into separate comments made on stage during a performance by the duo Bob Vylan, which came before Kneecap’s on the West Holts stage on 28 June, Avon and Somerset police said.
In response, Kneecap said “one element of the political policing intimidation attempt is over”.
The Belfast group had performed to a packed crowd at Worthy Farm, leading them in chants such as “Fuck Keir Starmer”.
One Kneecap member, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, known as Mo Chara, has been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly holding a Hezbollah flag at a London gig last November. The 27-year-old denies the charge and is to appear in court in August.
Kneecap said on Friday they had received a “private email” to say no further action would be taken over last month’s performance. “We played a historic set at Glastonbury. Whole area closed an hour before due to crowds,” the group said on X. “A celebration of love and solidarity. A sea of good people at the world’s most famous festival.”
They added: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close … yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation. This is political. This is targetted. This is state intimidation”
Avon and Somerset police said: “An investigation has been carried out into comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury festival on Saturday 28 June.
“Detectives sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service during their inquiries and after that advice, we have made the decision to take no further action on the grounds there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence.”
The force added: “Inquiries continue to be carried out in relation to separate comments made on stage during Bob Vylan’s performance.”
During the Bob Vylan performance, one half of the duo, Pascal Robinson-Foster, who performs under the name Bobby Vylan, led chants of “Death, death to the IDF”, referring to the Israel Defense Forces, and spoke of working for a “fucking Zionist”.
In a statement published on Instagram on 1 July, Bob Vylan said: “We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. A machine whose own soldiers were told to use unnecessary lethal force against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza.
“We, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story. We are a distraction from the story and whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction.”
