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.
The Irish comedy writer, 57, was met by armed police when he touched down at Heathrow Airport last month from Arizona in the US and detained on suspicion of inciting violence.
He has now posted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘The police have informed my lawyers that I face no further action in respect of the arrest at Heathrow in September.
‘After a successful hearing to get my bail conditions lifted (one which the police officer in charge of the case didn’t even bother to attend) the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case.
‘With the aid of the Free Speech Union, I still aim to hold the police accountable for what is only the latest attempt to silence and suppress gender critical voices on behalf of dangerous and disturbed men.’
Mr Linehan, currently living across the Atlantic, later declared he would no longer want to return to Britain.
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 was arrested in relation to three tweets (above) which police deemed to warrant an arrest on suspicion of inciting violence – but he says he is now in the clear over them
The writer (above) has separately appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last month having been accused of harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks
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.
