FATHER Ted creator Graham Linehan is to seek asylum in the US after his airport arrest by armed police.
The comedy writer, swooped on by five officers, said he no longer felt safe in Britain.
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In his first full interview since the incident at Heathrow on Monday, he said: “I simply don’t believe I will have a peaceful or comfortable old age in this country whilst this is going on.
“All I want to do now is go to the US, write comedy and forget about this country.
“Once the court case is done I’m going to apply for asylum in America.
“Before long we will have a nation too frightened to say up is down and black is white.”
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Mr Linehan, 57, was arrested after flying in from Arizona.
He was thrown into a cell for several hours before being quizzed over three tweets posted on X.
He had returned to Britain to clear his name by standing trial for a separate matter at Westminster magistrates court.
The IT Crowd and Black Books writer denies harassing trans activist Sophia Brooks on social media and damaging her phone.
But on landing he was accused of inciting violence over his April tweets.
One 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.”
Yesterday, he said: “Police must have known I was coming home. So why arrest me at gunpoint as I step off the plane?
“The whole point of my arrest was to terrify me and put me under significant stress before my trial.”
Last night, police amended his bail to allow him to go back on X but warned him not to contact his alleged victim.
Mr Linehan added: “That’s the absurdity — there is no victim in this case. My posts were not about an individual.”
He said Britain was broken, with officers now afraid to use common sense for fear of being labelled bigots.
