Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has admitted his officers are in an ‘impossible position’ and should not be ‘policing toxic culture wars debates’ after Graham Linehan was arrested over anti-trans posts.
In an extraordinary statement, the Met commissioner called for free speech laws to be changed and said his officers will now only take action on social media abuse ‘where there is a clear risk of harm or disorder’.
Linehan was detained by five armed officers as he returned to Britain from Arizona, and accused of ‘inciting violence’ in relation to three posts he had made on X in April while living in the US.
The Father Ted creator shared screenshots of the posts he said he was arrested for, including one where he called it a ‘violent, abusive act’ for a trans-identified male to be in a female-only space.
In what he maintains was a joke, the 57-year-old added in the tweet: ‘Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails punch him in the balls.’
The second post was an aerial shot from a trans demonstration which he described as ‘a photo you can smell’. The third tweet – a follow-up to the picture – said: ‘I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.’
Responding to the arrest by his officers, Sir Mark said Linehan was detained as officers had ‘reasonable grounds to believe an offence had been committed under the Public Order Act’.
But he added: ‘While the decision to investigate and ultimately arrest the man was made within existing legislation – which dictates that a threat to punch someone from a protected group could be an offence – I understand the concern caused by such incidents given differing perspectives on the balance between free speech and the risks of inciting violence in the real world.
Graham Linehan (pictured) was detained by five armed officers as he returned to Britain from Arizona , and accused of ‘inciting violence’ in relation to three posts he had made on X in April while living in the US
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said that his officers are in an ‘impossible position’ and should not be ‘policing toxic culture wars debates’
It comes as Wes Streeting (pictured) has called for officers to ‘police streets over tweets’ and hinted free speech laws could be changed
‘Most reasonable people would agree that genuine threats of physical violence against an identified person or group should be acted upon by officers. Such actions can and do have serious and violent real-world implications.
‘But when it comes to lesser cases, where there is ambiguity in terms of intent and harm, policing has been left between a rock and a hard place by successive governments who have given officers no choice but to record such incidents as crimes when they’re reported. Then they are obliged to follow all lines of enquiry and take action as appropriate.
‘I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates and officers are currently in an impossible position. I have offered to provide suggestions to the Home Office on where the law and policy should be clarified.
‘Greater clarity and common sense would enable us to limit the resources we dedicate to tackling online statements to those cases creating real threats in the real world. If agreed, we could be ready to test new approaches quickly, within a matter of weeks.
‘As an immediate way of protecting our officers from the situation we find ourselves in today, we will be putting in place a more stringent triaging process to make sure only the most serious cases are taken forward in future – where there is a clear risk of harm or disorder.
‘But officers across the country will have to make similar decisions in future unless the law and guidance is changed or clarified. I hope to see this happen without delay so policing’s focus can be squarely on tackling priority issues like street crime and serious violence.’
Linehan has released audio of his furious reaction to the moment he was arrested by armed police.
An officer could be heard telling Linehan: ‘It is alleged that on the 19th April 2025 you published a post on X intended to instill hatred and incite violence.’
After being told he is under arrest for the posts on X, a furious Linehan shouts: ‘It’s just disgraceful… Holy s**t, I don’t f***ing believe it. I’m under arrest!? Do you know what this country looks like in America?’
He then repeats ‘I’m going to sue you into the ground’ three times, adding: ‘F***ing b****ds. How dare you?’
When told to ‘calm down’ by police, Linehan – who was taken to hospital over his high blood pressure – fired back: ‘I won’t calm down!’
After being quizzed about whether he’s on any medication there is a brief moment of silence before Linehan yells: ‘It’s f***ing infuriating. You scumbags are working for f***ing ***holes who go into women’s toilets.’
He then criticises the police for targeting him for ‘standing up for women’s rights’.
Linehan yesterday told of the moment he stepped off the plane only to be greeted by five armed officers. ‘Don’t tell me! You’ve been sent by trans activists,’ Linehan laughed. The officers did not respond and escorted him away ‘like a terrorist’.
The audio was released as Wes Streeting suggested the Government could change free speech laws after Linehan’s dramatic arrest.
The Health Secretary has waded into the free speech debate after Linehan told how he was treated ‘like a terrorist’, held in a cell and then had to be rushed to hospital because the stress ‘nearly killed me’.
Mr Streeting told Times Radio that while he could not comment on live investigations or operational policing decisions, he could talk about ‘the principle’.
‘I think the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have been very clear that with the law and order challenges we’ve got in our country, we want to see people being kept safe by policing streets, not just policing tweets.’
He added: ‘It’s very easy for people to criticise the police. The police enforce the laws of the land that we as legislators provide.
‘So if we’re not getting the balance right, then that’s something that we all have to look at and consider.’
Mr Streeting also rejected the suggestion that free speech was now ‘banned’, but added: ‘I do think it’s worth us having a debate,’ on the issue.
He said the Government would ‘deal with’ policing priorities if Parliament has distracted officers from focusing on ‘the right things’, in comments to Sky News.
‘One of the things the Home Secretary is looking at is, are we tasking the police, are we asking the police to focus on the right things?
‘And if we’ve distracted, as Parliament under the previous government, if they’ve been distracted, being asked to do things we don’t see as a priority, well that is something that we will deal with,’ Mr Streeting said.
Nigel Farage has also weighed in, issuing a stark warning to Americans to protect their First Amendment rights
Irish comedy writer Mr Linehan told the Daily Mail: ‘After spending a decade obsessing over their score on the Stonewall virtue index, the police can no longer tell up from down, left from right and, most worryingly of all, right from wrong’
Harry Potter author JK Rowling led the chorus of outrage over his ordeal and called Mr Linehan’s arrest an act of ‘totalitarianism’
Mr Streeting acknowledged that people are ‘anxious’ about some of the cases where people have been prosecuted for online posts.
‘And I think we are all, let’s be honest, quite anxious about some of the cases we’ve seen in the media, or proceed through the courts, of what people have said online, where you think ‘Was that really what Parliament intended when they passed these laws?” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
It comes as Nigel Farage warned Americans to defend their rights as the Reform UK leader criticised the UK’s growing clampdown on free speech, urging the US not to follow the same path.
‘To be met by five armed officers as if he is some sort of international terrorist for literally putting jokey comments out about trans activists,’ he told Fox News.
‘You guys have the First Amendment. Let me urge you: be vigilant about defending your rights – do not go down the path that we have.’
The First Amendment in America protects citizens’ freedom of speech without government interference.
Mr Farage has said he will raise the case of Linehan when he gives evidence to the House Judiciary Committee in Washington on free speech in the UK today.
On Tuesday night, Irish comedy writer Mr Linehan, who said he was bailed on condition he did not use X, told the Daily Mail: ‘After spending a decade obsessing over their score on the Stonewall virtue index, the police can no longer tell up from down, left from right and, most worryingly of all, right from wrong.’
Yesterday, Rowling led the backlash over Linehan’s ordeal, asking online: ‘What the f*** has the UK become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable.’
Musk branded Britain a ‘police state’ and asked: ‘Why are police in Britain arresting citizens for social media posts instead of stopping child rape?’
Free speech campaigner and former police officer Harry Miller, who won a landmark court case against a force that investigated him for allegedly transphobic tweets, told the Daily Mail: ‘This is the sort of behaviour you expect in North Korea, not from a British police force.
‘Britons are in danger of being subjected to interference by a police state.’
Downing Street declined to comment on the ongoing case, which risks reviving damaging claims by US Vice-President JD Vance that free speech is being eroded in Britain.
However Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the Prime Minister’s priorities for the police were tackling street crime and serious violence, in what will be seen as a veiled swipe at the Met.
‘On the specific incident it’s an operational matter for the police, but the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have been clear 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,’ No 10 told reporters.
Lord Young, director of the Free Speech Union which is supporting Mr Linehan, told the Daily Mail: ‘I don’t think there’s a better illustration of just how low we’ve sunk when it comes to free speech.
World’s richest man Elon Musk branded Britain a ‘police state’ and asked: ‘Why are police in Britain arresting citizens for social media posts instead of stopping child rape?’
Rowling leapt to Linehan’s defence just weeks after he accused her of failing to defend him after he was cancelled over his similar views
Free speech advocates, including JK Rowling, led the outrage over the arrest of Linehan today
‘If Graham Linehan himself had written this scene for a sitcom about the descent of Starmer’s Britain into an authoritarian banana republic, his editor would have rejected it as too implausible.
‘The overzealous policing of social media posts is turning the UK into an international laughing stock.’
His campaign group has hired Mr Linehan a solicitor to defend him against any possible charges but is looking into whether the police could be sued for wrongful arrest or false imprisonment.
Lord Young said there is ‘zero chance’ of Mr Linehan being prosecuted for the offence under the Public Order Act that he was arrested for, as it only covers stirring up hatred on grounds of religion or sexual orientation – not gender identity.
He wrote online: ‘Sir Mark Rowley should make it clear no further action will be taken, issue an apology and offer Glinner substantial compensation for false arrest and wrongful imprisonment.’
The Tories accused Scotland Yard of an ‘absurd infringement of free speech’ as the backlash intensified and said whoever approved the arrest should be held to account.
On Tuesday night Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘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.
Kemi Badenoch hit out at the Labour government and criticised the Met Police for ‘thought policing’ following news of Mr Linehan’s arrest
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called the arrest an ‘absurd infringement of free speech’
‘The Conservatives would stop this nonsense on day one and make public safety the first duty of policing, instead of pandering to fringe ideologies.’
Senior Tory MPs questioned the need for five officers to make the arrest given the shortage of armed police nationwide with Laura Trott urging: ‘It must be made clear who made this decision and they should be held accountable.’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘This strikes me as an absurd infringement of free speech. The police should focus on catching real criminals.’
And Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘The Met need to promptly apologise.
‘Every day they delay will add to bill the taxpayer faces for their incompetence.’
The row will reach Washington DC on Wednesday as Nigel Farage gives evidence to the US House Committee on the Judiciary on ‘Europe’s threat to American speech and innovation’.
Reform UK leader Mr Farage said: ‘The Graham Linehan case is yet another example of the war on free speech in the UK.
‘I will discuss this, the Lucy Connolly case and the increasing role of our police in non-crime ‘hate’ incidents on Capitol Hill.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he would be raising Mr Linehan’s arrest as an example of ‘the increasing role of our police in non-crime ‘hate’ incidents’ during a visit to Washington DC
‘Free speech is under assault and I am urging the USA to be vigilant.’
The party’s Deputy Leader Richard Tice said: ‘This over the top, terrorist-style reaction by the police to a series of tweets is extraordinary.
‘Be under no illusion: freedom of speech in Starmer’s Britain is in grave danger.’
Mr Linehan revealed on his blog on Tuesday how five armed officers were waiting for him as he stepped off a plane from Arizona on Monday, and told him he was ‘under arrest for three tweets’.
He said he was taken to Heathrow police station and during his interview insisted he had been joking when he wrote on X in April: ‘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.’
Then he said a nurse checked on him and found his blood pressure was ‘over 200 – stroke territory’ and he was ‘escorted to A&E’.
He said: ‘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.’
Mr Linehan is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday accused of harassing transgender woman Sophia Brooks and damaging her phone, which he denies, in a separate case
A spokesman for the Met said: ‘On Monday September 1 at 1pm 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.’
The force added: ‘It is routine for officers policing airports to carry firearms. These were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest.’
But the Met did not respond to questions about why the arrest was deemed necessary.
Under strict rules known as PACE Code G, suspects are only meant to be arrested in limited circumstances including when police need to ascertain their identity, prevent them from harming themselves or others, stop them destroying evidence or ensuring they can be interviewed.
Mr Linehan is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday accused of harassing transgender woman Sophia Brooks and damaging her phone, which he denies, in a separate case.
