Peter Kay bomb hoax case postponed until next year

The case against a man charged over an alleged bomb hoax at a Peter Kay performance has been postponed until next May.

Omar Majed, 20, who has yet to enter a plea, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court via video-link from hospital, after being charged with communicating false information to police contrary to the Criminal Law Act.

It follows the evacuation of the Utilita Arena in Birmingham during a show by comedian Kay on 1 May, to allow police to carry out searches.

Kay was ushered off the stage about 45 minutes into his set and thousands of fans were told to leave the arena as the show had been abruptly cancelled.

West Midlands Police later said it had carried out searches after a report of a suspicious bag being left in the area, but nothing suspicious was found.

A trial date had been originally scheduled for 3 November, but that hearing was cut short after Majed, from Saltley, started to remove his clothes.

Addressing the latest hearing however, Judge Andrew Smith KC said the trial would instead be listed for 17 May 2027, with a time estimate of eight days.

The judge said the trial was to be delayed to allow for further investigation work to be carried out.

A further pre-trial review hearing was also set for 16 April, to consider expert reports that will need to be served by the end of March.

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