Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has claimed he was arrested by five armed police officers at Heathrow Airport over a series of ‘anti-trans’ tweets.
The Irish comedy writer, who was traveling from Arizona to London, claims he was treated like a ‘terrorist’ when he was apprehended immediately after leaving the plane.
Linehan, whose once-thriving career took a hit due to his controversial views on gender, asserts that he was guided to a private area and informed that he was ‘under arrest for three tweets’.
The Met Police has confirmed he was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence at around 1pm yesterday ‘in relation to posts on X’.
This incident adds to a growing list of stringent police actions related to ‘thought crimes’, with various individuals including writers, council members, and parents participating in school WhatsApp discussions being scrutinized in recent times.
The most prominent case of ‘tweet police’ action involved Lucy Connolly, a Tory councillor’s spouse, who recently gained freedom after receiving a 31-month sentence for posting a racist tweet following the Southport attack.
Linehan, 57, has disclosed the tweets responsible for his arrest. One from April 20 read: ‘If a trans-identified male enters a space reserved for females only, it is an act of violence and abuse. Make a scene, alert the authorities and as a last resort, hit him where it hurts.’
Another tweet, dated April 19, featured an image from a trans rally with the caption: ‘A photo you can smell.’ The final tweet was a continuation that stated: ‘I detest them. Misogynists and homophobes. To hell with them.’
Linehan claimed he was later escorted to A&E ‘because the stress nearly killed me’, adding that his blood pressure was recorded at over 200mmHg by a nurse.
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan claims he has been arrested over his tweets. He claims he had to go to a hospital (pictured) after because he was so stressed
These are the three tweets which Graham Linehan claims he was arrested over
Describing his dramatic arrest on his blog, Linehan wrote: ‘The moment I stepped off the plane at Heathrow, five armed police officers were waiting. Not one, not two—five. They escorted me to a private area and told me I was under arrest for three tweets.’
He added: ‘I was arrested at an airport like a terrorist, locked in a cell like a criminal, taken to hospital because the stress nearly killed me, and banned from speaking online—all because I made jokes that upset some psychotic crossdressers.
‘To me, this proves one thing beyond doubt: the UK 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.’
Linehan claims that even when he handed over his passport in Arizona, officials told him he did not have a seat and had to be re-ticketed.
‘At the time, I thought it was just the sort of innocent snafu that makes air travel such a joy,’ he said. ‘But in hindsight, it was clear I’d been flagged.’
Linehan says he burst into laughter when he first saw the police officers – alleging that some were even displaying a ‘polite bafflement’ over the arrest.
He claims a van was arranged to meet him on the tarmac ‘so I didn’t have to be perp-walked through the airport like a terrorist’.
Linehan added: ‘At Heathrow police station, my belt, bag, and devices were confiscated. Then I was shown into a small green-tiled cell with a bunk, a silver toilet in the corner and a message from Crimestoppers on the ceiling next to a concave mirror that was presumably there to make you reflect on your life choices.’
A spokesman for the Met Police told the Mail: ‘On Monday, 1 September at 13:00hrs officers arrested a man at Heathrow Airport after he arrived on an inbound American Airlines flight.
‘The man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence. This is in relation to posts on X.
‘After being taken to police custody, officers became concerned for his health and he was taken to hospital. His condition is neither life-threatening nor life-changing.
‘He has now been bailed pending further investigation.’
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
