Graham Linehan arrested at Heathrow over his X posts

Linehan said in an online article his bail condition stipulates he is "not to go on Twitter"

Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence in relation to his posts on X.

He was arrested by five officers after arriving on a flight from the US, and said in an online Substack article that officials then became concerned for his health after taking his blood pressure, and took him to hospital.

The Metropolitan Police said that a man in his 50s was arrested on 1 September at Heathrow Airport and taken to hospital, adding his condition "is neither life-threatening nor life-changing" , and he was bailed "pending further investigation".

Linehan said in an online article on Substack that his bail condition stipulates he is "not to go on Twitter" and that his arrest related to three posts on X from April, on his views about challenging "a trans-identified male" in "a female-only space".

The arrest prompted a furious backlash from figures including author JK Rowling.

Linehan shared screen shots of the posts he said he was arrested for on Substack, the subscription-based online platform.

The first post, from his X feed, called it a "violent, abusive act" for a trans-identified male to be in a female-only space. He suggested: "Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails punch him in the balls."

He then wrote on Substack that during his police interview following the arrest, "I explained that the 'punch' tweet was a serious point made with a joke", and that it was about "the height difference between men and women... and certainly not a call to violence".

His second post from X appeared to be an aerial shot of a group of protesters in a town centre, and he called it "a photo you can smell".

The third expressed his views, in which he said "I hate them", referring to "misogynists and homophobes", adding an expletive.

Downing Street declined to comment on his arrest, but said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had been "clear" about their "priorities for crime and policing".

When asked about the arrest, Starmer's official spokesman said: "That's an operational matter for the police.

"But the prime minister and home secretary have been clear about 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."

Asked whether the government agreed with author JK Rowling's claim on X, in response to Linehan's arrest, that the UK was now a "totalitarian" state, the spokesman said: "No."

Arrest criticism

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch was critical of the arrest, saying: "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. The Conservatives would stop this nonsense on day one and make public safety the first duty of policing, instead of pandering to fringe ideologies."

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called Linehan's arrest "totally disproportionate - especially given police often don't bother to follow up shoplifting, phone theft and car theft properly".

He said: "This strikes me as an absurd infringement of free speech. The police should focus on catching real criminals."

The Irish comedy writer, who also created The IT Crowd and Black Books, said when he stepped off the aircraft, "five armed officers were waiting" to tell him he was under arrest.

The Met said: "The arrest was made by officers from the MPS Aviation Unit. It is routine for officers policing airports to carry firearms. These were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest."

Graham Linehan is also facing a separate charge of harassment and is due to appear in court on Thursday.