Kneecap hire billboards across London before rapper's court case
The Irish rap trio Kneecap have taken out billboards across London that read 'more blacks, more dogs, more Irish, Mo Chara' before the rapper's appearance in court accused of a terrorism offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, in November. He is due to appear at Westminster magistrates' court on Wednesday morning.
In a post on Instagram on Tuesday, Kneecap said they had 'plastered London with a few messages ahead of this witch-hunt'.
The billboards are white, green and orange, the colours of the Irish flag. The phrase on them is a reference to the 'no Irish, no blacks, no dogs' signs that were placed in the windows of some London pubs and boarding houses in the 1950s and 1960s.
Kneecap posted: 'British courts have long charged people from the North of Ireland with 'terrorism' for crimes never committed. We will fight them. We will win.'
The group has urged supporters to 'bring flags, bring instruments, bring banners, bring your mates' to the court in protest. A small crowd had gathered outside the court on Wednesday morning.
Kneecap's lawyers include Gareth Peirce, who represented the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, in his US extradition case, Darragh Mackin, who helped Kneecap win their case against Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, and Brenda Campbell KC, who represented the families of the Hillsborough disaster.
The Metropolitan Police said they had charged Chara, who appears on the court list as Liam O'Hanna, after initially being made aware of a video that had been shared online. The force previously said the trio were under investigation after clips posted appeared to show them calling for the deaths of MPs and shouting 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah'.
Kneecap said they have 'never supported' Hamas or Hezbollah, both of which are banned in the UK. In a previous statement the group said: 'We are not the story. Genocide is.'
Kneecap are set to play Glastonbury next week after being removed from the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow in July.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
20 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Police assessing videos of Kneecap and Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performances
Rap punk duo Bob Vylan led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of: 'Free, free Palestine' and: 'Death, death to the IDF', before Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' outside one member of the band's upcoming court appearance. In a post on social media, Avon and Somerset Police said: 'We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon. Bob Vylan also displayed pro-Palestinian images (Yui Mok/PA) 'Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.' Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC Director General about the Bob Vylan's performance, a Government spokesperson said. They added: 'We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. 'The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC Director General to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer.' There was a display of pro-Palestinian flags and t-shirts during Kneecap's set (Yui Mok/PA) Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In reference to his bandmate's upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.' In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for Kneecap to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'. During the performance Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.' He also said a 'big thank you to the Eavis family' and said 'they stood strong' amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up. O hAnnaidh, 27, wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: 'We are all Palestine Action', in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group. News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio played from the sound system before they walked onto the stage were booed by the Glastonbury Festival audience. The trio opened with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art and also performed tracks including Get Your Brits Out and Hood. Access to the area around the West Holts Stage was closed around 45 minutes before their performance after groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags. A Bob Vylan member crowd-surfs surrounded by Palestinian flags (Yui Mok/PA) Earlier on Saturday, the BBC confirmed they would not be live-streaming the set but said the performance is likely to be made available on-demand later. O hAnnaidh was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year. On June 18, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts. He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20. Elsewhere at the festival, Haim were revealed as the surprise act on the Park Stage at 7.30pm on Saturday. The band bounced on to the stage in black and silver outfits and tore into a raucous version of hit single The Wire. After the song, singer Danielle Haim said: 'On our first album, we came to Glastonbury and we played the Park Stage, I love you, and it was the best show I had ever played, until now, this tops everything.' The band was revealed as the surprise act with a red LED sign, similar to the one on their new LP I Quit, which was released earlier this year. The sign read 'the Haim show is about to begin'. Haim also dipped into some of their best-known songs, such as Summer Girl, Want You Back and one of their latest singles, Relationships. On the Pyramid Stage, Pulp were revealed to be Patchwork with the Sheffield-formed Britpop band paying homage to their breakthrough 1995 stand-in headline set during the performance.
South Wales Argus
20 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Police assessing videos of Kneecap and Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performances
Rap punk duo Bob Vylan led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of: 'Free, free Palestine' and: 'Death, death to the IDF', before Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' outside one member of the band's upcoming court appearance. In a post on social media, Avon and Somerset Police said: 'We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon. Bob Vylan also displayed pro-Palestinian images (Yui Mok/PA) 'Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.' Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC Director General about the Bob Vylan's performance, a Government spokesperson said. They added: 'We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. 'The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC Director General to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer.' There was a display of pro-Palestinian flags and t-shirts during Kneecap's set (Yui Mok/PA) Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In reference to his bandmate's upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.' In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for Kneecap to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'. During the performance Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.' He also said a 'big thank you to the Eavis family' and said 'they stood strong' amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up. O hAnnaidh, 27, wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: 'We are all Palestine Action', in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group. News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio played from the sound system before they walked onto the stage were booed by the Glastonbury Festival audience. The trio opened with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art and also performed tracks including Get Your Brits Out and Hood. Access to the area around the West Holts Stage was closed around 45 minutes before their performance after groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags. A Bob Vylan member crowd-surfs surrounded by Palestinian flags (Yui Mok/PA) Earlier on Saturday, the BBC confirmed they would not be live-streaming the set but said the performance is likely to be made available on-demand later. O hAnnaidh was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year. On June 18, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts. He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20. Elsewhere at the festival, Haim were revealed as the surprise act on the Park Stage at 7.30pm on Saturday. The band bounced on to the stage in black and silver outfits and tore into a raucous version of hit single The Wire. After the song, singer Danielle Haim said: 'On our first album, we came to Glastonbury and we played the Park Stage, I love you, and it was the best show I had ever played, until now, this tops everything.' The band was revealed as the surprise act with a red LED sign, similar to the one on their new LP I Quit, which was released earlier this year. The sign read 'the Haim show is about to begin'. Haim also dipped into some of their best-known songs, such as Summer Girl, Want You Back and one of their latest singles, Relationships. On the Pyramid Stage, Pulp were revealed to be Patchwork with the Sheffield-formed Britpop band paying homage to their breakthrough 1995 stand-in headline set during the performance.
Sky News
24 minutes ago
- Sky News
Girl, 7, dies after tree collapses at park in Southend
One girl has died and another is in a critical condition after a tree partially collapsed at a park in Essex. The girls, aged seven and six, suffered serious injuries when they were among a number of children caught beneath the tree at Chalkwell Park in Southend. Essex Police confirmed the seven-year-old girl died in hospital and her family are receiving support from specialist officers. Three other children suffered minor injuries following the incident. An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 2.55pm to reports that a tree had fallen in Chalkwell Park in Chalkwell. "Six ambulances, three ambulance officer vehicles, the London Air Ambulance and Kent Air Ambulance were sent to the scene. Police said an investigation is continuing into what caused the tree to collapse. 'Unimaginable hardship' for families Chief Superintendent Leighton Hammett said: "Families are facing unimaginable hardship this evening and all of our thoughts are with them at this time. "I cannot begin to put into words how difficult today's events have been, and continue to be, for them. "It's also not lost on me how traumatic it must have been for the members of the public who witnessed this awful incident. "Across a matter of moments, many of them went from enjoying the warm summer weather to rushing to the aid of strangers without a second thought." Chief Sup Hammett also paid tribute to police, ambulance and fire crews who "did all they could," adding that "today's loss is one they will all take personally". Death is 'truly devastating' Local MP David Burton-Sampson said: "The news of the sad death of one of the children involved in the incident at Chalkwell Park today is truly devastating. "I am sure I reflect the thoughts of all our residents here in Southend in sending my deepest condolences to the child's family and friends. "My thoughts are also with the other children injured and I wish them a full and speedy recovery. Please refresh the page for the latest version.
