Graham Linehan, known for co-creating the U.K. sitcom “Father Ted,” was apprehended in London on Monday, reportedly due to several social media posts critical of transgender activists.
Linehan described the experience, indicating that there were peculiar occurrences even before his flight landed in London.
According to the former comedy writer, a gate agent in the U.S. informed him he did not have a confirmed seat on his return flight and required a new ticket—a detail he paid little attention to at the time. However, following his arrest, Linehan speculated on Substack that he believes he was flagged after “someone, somewhere, probably wearing unconvincing make-up” made a call.
Upon disembarking the plane, Linehan was met by five armed police officers who informed him he was being arrested over three posts on X.
“In a country where pedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilized five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer for this tweet (and no, I promise you, I am not making this up),” Linehan wrote.
In one of the posts, Linehan asserted that “if a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act.” He then suggested that individuals encountering such a scenario should create a disturbance, contact law enforcement, or even “punch” the offender.
He stated that officers questioned him about the post, and he clarified it was a serious point conveyed with humor.
Authorities would not confirm the identity of the suspect involved in the incident. Nevertheless, in response to a Digital inquiry about Linehan, a police spokesperson indicated that a man in his fifties had been arrested on suspicion of inciting violence “in relation to posts on X.” Other reports on the arrest have linked this official statement to the incident involving Linehan.
Linehan stated that his sole bail condition prohibited him from using X.
“I looked at the single bail condition: I am not to go on Twitter. That’s it. No threats, no speeches about the seriousness of my crimes – just a legal gag order designed to shut me up while I’m in , and a demand I face a further interview in October,” he wrote.
The ex-comedy writer further asserted that the experience reinforced his belief that “the U.K. has become a country that is hostile to freedom of speech, hostile to women, and far too accommodating to the demands of violent, entitled, abusive men who have turned the police into their personal goon squad.”
“Harry Potter” creator , a prominent critic of trans activism, condemned the arrest, remarking “What the f— has the U.K. become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable.”
A Reform UK Member of Parliament commented, “Linehan today, you tomorrow. Make your objections known now.”
“Britain is now a total laughingstock – a country where we arrest the authors of light comedies and interrogate them about their tweets. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious,” a Conservative Party MP posted on X following the apprehension.
Furthermore, conservative activist criticized the U.K., asserting that the nation possesses “no free speech” and that “the feelings of transgenders [and] migrants come before the rights of everyone else.”
, a group committed to safeguarding freedom of expression, also denounced the arrest and pledged its backing for Linehan.
“We do not believe Graham’s arrest or the bail conditions imposed were lawful. We will be backing him all the way in his fight against these preposterous allegations and the disproportionate response from the police,” the organization declared on X.
Lord Toby Young of Acton informed Digital that the Free Speech Union would be funding Linehan’s legal representation.
“The over-zealous policing of social media posts by the British police is turning the country into an international laughingstock,” Young conveyed to Digital. “It’s particularly egregious, given that the police only respond to one in five shoplifting offenses and 75% of burglaries went unsolved last year. They are policing our tweets at the expense of policing our streets.”