UK Health Minister Wes Streeting Eyes Weakening Laws After Anti-Trans Violence Incitement Arrest

Health Secretary suggests reviewing violence incitement protections following arrest of disgraced former comedian who told followers on X to assault trans women.

UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting has signalled the British government may weaken laws protecting transgender people from violence, after comedian Graham Linehan was arrested for allegedly inciting attacks against trans women in public spaces.

Speaking to multiple media outlets on Wednesday, Streeting suggested current legislation needs to be "looked at" and implied that arresting someone for encouraging physical assault against trans people might not be the "right balance" for free speech.

The intervention comes after Graham Linehan, a former comedian and writer of The IT Crowd, was detained at Heathrow Airport on Monday over social media posts, including one that explicitly instructed followers to "punch [trans women] in the balls" if they encountered them in public restrooms.

"We want to see people being kept safe by policing streets, not just policing tweets," Streeting told Times Radio, explicitly minimising the connection between online incitement and violence.

"If we're not getting the balance right, then that's something that we all have to look at," he said, suggesting Parliament may have gone too far in protecting people from those who encourage physical violence.

The Health Secretary's comments follows intense criticism from far-right politicians and commentators, including Elon Musk, who called Britain a "police state," and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who dismissed the arrest as "thought-policing."

Reform UK's Nigel Farage plans to cite the case in testimony to the US Congress as evidence of supposed free speech restrictions in the UK, despite the arrest being related explicitly to alleged incitement of physical violence; which is also a crime in the US. (Incitement to Imminent Lawless Action)

Streeting appeared to align with these critics, telling the BBC that people are "anxious" about prosecutions for online posts and questioning whether parliament intended for people encouraging assault to face consequences.

This all comes after the MP has been seen engaging with anti-trans groups, and after he led the implementation of a ban on Gender Affirming care under the NHS for children in the UK.