Graham Linehan, the co-creator of “Father Ted,” has been arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence related to posts he made on X.
Linehan stated in a Substack article that he was apprehended by five officers upon arrival from the U.S. He further noted that officials became concerned about his health after taking his blood pressure, leading to his hospitalization.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that a man in his 50s was arrested at Heathrow Airport on September 1st and subsequently taken to a hospital. They added that his condition “is neither life-threatening nor life-changing,” and he has been bailed “pending further investigation.”
Linehan’s Substack post indicated that his bail conditions include a restriction from using Twitter (X). He stated that the arrest stemmed from three posts made in April concerning his views on challenging “a trans-identified male” in “a female-only space.”
The arrest has elicited strong reactions, including criticism from author JK Rowling.
Linehan shared screenshots on Substack of the posts he believes led to his arrest.
One post from his X feed described a trans-identified male in a female-only space as a “violent, abusive act,” suggesting, “Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails punch him in the balls.”
In a subsequent Substack post, Linehan stated that during his police interview, he “explained that the ‘punch’ tweet was a serious point made with a joke” about “the height difference between men and women… and certainly not a call to violence.”
A second post from X appeared to be an aerial photograph of protesters in a town center, which he captioned as “a photo you can smell.”
The third post expressed his animosity towards “misogynists and homophobes,” including an expletive.
Downing Street has declined to comment on the arrest, reiterating that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper have been “clear” about their “priorities for crime and policing.”
When questioned about the arrest, Starmer’s spokesperson stated: “That’s an operational matter for the police.”
“But the prime minister and home secretary have been clear about where their priorities for crime and policing are, and that’s tackling anti-social behaviour, shoplifting, street crime, as well as reducing serious violent crimes like knife crime and violence against women.”
Asked whether the government agreed with author JK Rowling’s claim on X, in response to Linehan’s arrest, that the UK was now a “totalitarian” state, the spokesman said: “No.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticized the arrest, stating: “Sending five officers to arrest a man for a tweet isn’t policing, it’s politics. Under Labour, we routinely see burglary, knife crime and assaults go unsolved, while resources are wasted on thought-policing.”
“It’s time this government told the police their job is to protect the public, not monitor social media for hurty words. The Conservatives would stop this nonsense on day one and make public safety the first duty of policing, instead of pandering to fringe ideologies.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called Linehan’s arrest “totally disproportionate – especially given police often don’t bother to follow up shoplifting, phone theft and car theft properly.”
He said: “This strikes me as an absurd infringement of free speech. The police should focus on catching real criminals.”
Linehan, who also created “The IT Crowd” and “Black Books,” reported that upon disembarking the aircraft, “five armed officers were waiting” to inform him of his arrest.
The Met stated: “The arrest was made by officers from the MPS Aviation Unit. It is routine for officers policing airports to carry firearms. These were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest.”
Graham Linehan is also facing a separate charge of harassment and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
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