Criminal Investigation into Kneecap Dropped: But the Stench of the Thought Police Remains

So, Avon and Somerset Police have quietly dropped their investigation into Irish rap trio Kneecap after deciding there’s “insufficient evidence” to prosecute. Not that there was ever a realistic chance of conviction, but that’s hardly the point, is it?

Let’s not kid ourselves: this wasn’t about upholding the law. It was about sending a message. A message from the state, cloaked in legalese, warning artists, activists, and anyone daring to speak outside the Westminster-approved script: We’re watching you.

The so-called offence? A throwaway remark at Glastonbury, where Kneecap referenced a pending court case involving one of their members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh. During the performance, fellow member Naoise Ó Cairealláin told the crowd they would “start a riot outside the courts”—before immediately clarifying: “No riots, just love and support. And support for Palestine.”

That was enough to launch a full-scale criminal investigation. Surveillance, statements, pressure. All for an ad-lib on a stage in a field, drowned in music and context. We’re truly through the looking glass.

But that’s the era we’re in: where irony is a crime, and satire gets red-flagged by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Kneecap called it for what it is: “Political policing intimidation.” And they’re right. There was no riot. No incitement. Just defiance. And that’s what rattles the establishment—especially when it comes wrapped in tricolours, Gaeilge, and pro-Palestinian solidarity.

Let’s be blunt: the state’s issue with Kneecap isn’t about what was said. It’s about who said it, and where they said it. A stage as big as Glastonbury’s is supposed to be for safe rebellion—an aesthetic of protest that never strays too far from the status quo. When real rebellion slips through—unapologetically Irish, unapologetically political—they scramble to contain it.

Meanwhile, the BBC, which somehow managed to broadcast the set of Bob Vylan in full, including chants of “Death to the IDF”, scrambled to apologise under pressure from Lisa Nandy and her fellow Culture-Warriors. They didn’t cut the feed because they didn’t anticipate anything genuinely political slipping past the producers. That was their real offence: letting reality leak into the performance.

Now Bob Vylan are under investigation too. Let’s be clear, chanting “death to the IDF” is not the same as calling for violence against Jewish people. It’s a political chant against a military force engaged in a brutal occupation. Offensive? To some. Illegal? That’s another matter entirely.

But here we are, with artists being treated like insurgents for expressing rage at genocide and injustice. And this from a state that arms the Israeli military and has the gall to lecture others on incitement.

Let’s not forget: Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh still faces a separate charge under terrorism laws, for allegedly holding up a Hezbollah flag at a gig. A flag. At a gig. If that sounds Orwellian, it’s because it is.

This is the creeping criminalisation of dissent. A slow, methodical erasure of protest under the guise of “public order.” From Palestine solidarity to Irish republican memory, the message is the same: stay in your cultural lane, don’t make it political, and if you do… expect the knock on the door.

So no, the police dropping the case doesn’t undo the damage. The warning has already been sent. But Kneecap aren’t backing down, and nor should they. Because free speech doesn’t end where Starmer begins.

Art is not a crime. Dissent is not terrorism. And the only riot we’re seeing is the state’s full-blown panic at the return of real politics.

Paul Knaggs

Editor, founder, Labour Heartlands, Citizen journalist. 𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙍𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩. Fighting a constant struggle with dyslexia that’s overcome with a burning desire to speak out against the corrupt political system and the social injustices it creates. Advocate for Free speech and open, accountable, democracy. #GTTO