Former Comedian, Graham Linehan, Arrested at Heathrow Over Anti-Trans Incitement

Former comedy writer Graham Linehan was arrested by Metropolitan Police at Heathrow Airport on Monday over three social media posts, according to his own account published on his blog yesterday.

The 57-year-old Father Ted creator said five armed officers detained him after he disembarked from a flight from Arizona. He was taken to Heathrow police station and later transported to hospital.

According to Linehan, police arrested him over tweets posted in April, including one that stated: "If a [trans woman] is in a female-only space, [s]he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch [her] in the balls."

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The arrest marks a further escalation in Linehan's years-long campaign targeting trans people, which has seen him previously permanently suspended from Twitter, until Musks takeover, and become increasingly isolated from the UK entertainment industry he once was a mainstay in.

Linehan has spent recent years directing his considerable online following towards individuals who speak out for trans rights, often resulting in waves of harassment. I experienced this firsthand when Linehan targeted me on social media in February, mobilising his followers in a pile-on that resulted in numerous death threats landing in my inbox.

The Metropolitan Police have not commented on the arrest. Linehan has been bailed with conditions preventing him from using Twitter (X), and must return for further questioning in October.

He is also scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court later this week on separate charges relating to harassment and criminal damage, against a trans woman.