Kneecap suffer setback in legal battle against Canadian MP

The case relates to comments by the MP, including allegations that the group supported terrorist organisations.

The Irish-language rap group from Belfast asked the Irish court for permission to serve Gasparro with legal papers in Canada, but Ms Justice Kathleen Noctor refused the application due to concerns over the paperwork accompanying the proposed proceedings.

The judge highlighted a translation issue, noting that an English translation of the plenary summons had not been provided.

However, Senior Counsel Mark Carty told the court that the application could be brought back before the judge once the necessary documentation had been properly prepared.

The case relates to previous comments made by Gasparro about the Belfast trio.

Last year, Gasparro announced that Kneecap would be banned from Canada after accusing the group of advocating political violence and alleging that they supported terrorist organisations.

Kneecap strongly rejected the claims.

Hitting back at the time, the group said that no member of Kneecap had ever been convicted of a crime in any country and announced that they had instructed their lawyers to take legal action.

The group also said that, if successful in court, they intended to donate any damages awarded to help children who had suffered amputations in Gaza.

The group's legal team told the court that Gasparro's comments had caused serious damage to their reputation and were false and defamatory.

Today's decision does not bring the proposed case to an end, as the application can be made again once the required documents, including the relevant translations, have been properly put before the court.