Graham Linehan, co-creator of the popular sitcom “Father Ted” and a vocal figure in the gender critical movement, announced that police will not pursue further action regarding his controversial anti-transgender tweets. These tweets led to his arrest at Heathrow Airport.
The 57-year-old Irish writer was intercepted by armed officers upon his arrival from Arizona last month and was detained on suspicion of inciting violence.
In a recent post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Linehan shared, “The police have informed my lawyers that no further action will be taken concerning my arrest at Heathrow in September.”
He further explained, “After a successful court hearing to lift my bail conditions—a hearing which the police officer responsible for the case did not attend—the Crown Prosecution Service has decided to drop the case.”
Linehan, expressing his determination to challenge the authorities, said, “With support from the Free Speech Union, I am committed to holding the police accountable for this latest effort to silence and suppress gender critical opinions on behalf of what I consider dangerous and disturbed individuals.”
Currently residing in the United States, Linehan also indicated that he has no plans to return to the United Kingdom.
His arrest had been met with fury from high-profile figures such as Harry Potter author JK Rowling who came to his support by branding ‘utterly deplorable’.
Linehan, who also co-wrote and directed sitcoms such as Black Books, The IT Crowd and Count Arthur Strong, was detained in relation to three tweets which police deemed to warrant an arrest on suspicion of inciting violence.
The first, from April 20, read: ‘If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.’
Father Ted co-creator and gender critical campaigner Graham Linehan says he faces no further police action over anti-trans tweets that saw him arrested at an airport
A second tweet, on April 19, was a picture of a trans rally with the caption: ‘A photo you can smell.’ The third was a follow-up to this tweet which said: ‘I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.’
The writer was heard audibly fuming in disbelief when he was stopped by armed officers at the west London airport.
He told them: ‘I’m a f****** comedy writer, I wrote Father Ted. Are you a f****** idiot?… It’s just disgraceful.’
When told he was under arrest, Linehan shouted: ‘Holy s***, I don’t f****** believe it, do you know what this country looks like to America?,’ before telling them ‘I’m going to sue you into the ground’.
He called the officers ‘f****** bastards’ and shouted ‘how dare you’ before they urged him to calm down.
Shortly afterwards, Linehan can be heard saying: ‘I’m f****** infuriated. You scumbags are working for f****** arseholes who go into women’s toilets.’
After his arrest, the writer claimed he was escorted to A&E ‘because the stress nearly killed me’ – adding that his blood pressure was recorded at over 200mm Hg by a nurse.
He subsquently told the Times that the Metropolitan Police’s move to arrest him at Heathrow was the ‘greatest mistake they could have made’.
Linehan said he was stopped by five armed police officers, although it is understood this is because they were from the Met’s Aviation unit and routinely carry firearms.
The writer has separately appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last month, having been accused of harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks.
Linehan has denied one count of harassing Brooks on social media between October 11 and October 27 last year, and a further charge of criminal damage of their mobile phone on October 19 last year.
The trial was adjourned and will resume on October 29, with Linehan released on bail.
