Comedy writer Graham Linehan was detained by five armed police officers at Heathrow Airport on Monday after arriving on an American Airlines flight from Arizona.
The 57-year-old Father Ted creator was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence related to posts on X, formerly Twitter.
Metropolitan Police confirmed officers arrested a man in his 50s at 1pm on Monday following his arrival on an inbound flight. The arrest relates to three tweets posted in April concerning transgender people.
Linehan claimed officers escorted him to a private area immediately after he disembarked, where he was informed of his arrest.
Graham Linehan was arrested on Monday
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PAThe tweets that prompted his detention included one from April 20 stating: “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.”
Another post from April 19 showed an image of a trans rally with the caption: “A photo you can smell.”
He subsequently wrote: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.”
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The writer, who also created The IT Crowd and Black Books, has become an outspoken critic of transgender rights movements in recent years.
Following his arrest, Linehan was transported to a police station at Heathrow where his possessions were confiscated and he was placed in a cell.
During the subsequent interview, an officer questioned him about each tweet whilst discussing transgender terminology.
The Met Police confirmed that after “being taken to police custody, officers became concerned for his health and he was taken to hospital”.
Graham Linehan
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PAThey clarified: “His condition is neither life-threatening nor life-changing.”
The comedy writer spent approximately eight hours under medical observation at A&E. He described the experience as life-threatening, claiming the pressure of being detained for what he termed “jokes” had caused the severe health episode.
Linehan had won several awards for his work on many British sitcoms
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After his release, Linehan received a single bail condition prohibiting him from posting on X until a further interview scheduled for October.
He characterised the restriction as a “legal gag order” intended to silence him whilst in the UK.
The arrest occurs days before Linehan faces trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
He is charged with harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks on social media and damaging Brooks’s mobile phone during an October incident.