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 flying to London from Arizona, alleges that he was treated like a ‘terrorist’ after he was detained as soon as he stepped off the plane.
Linehan, whose successful career was derailed by his gender-critical views, claims he was then escorted to a private area, where he was informed 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’.
It is the latest in a string of heavy-handed police responses over ‘thought crimes’, with writers, councillors and parents talking in school WhatsApp groups targeted in recent months.
The most high-profile ‘tweet police’ case involved Lucy Connolly, the wife of a Tory councillor who was released from prison last month after being handed a 31-month sentence for a racist tweet after the Southport attack.
Linehan, 57, has shared the tweets which he says police arrested him over. One from April 20 said: ‘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.’
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.’
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.
