Linehan cleared of harassing trans activist but guilty of damaging phone

Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been cleared of harassing a trans activist on social media but convicted of damaging a phone.

Linehan "deliberately whacked" a teenage trans woman's phone and threw it in a road outside a conference last October, his trial was told in September.

Westminster Magistrates' Court also heard that the Irish comedy writer "relentlessly" posted abusive comments about Sophia Brooks on social media.

On Tuesday, the judge said Linehan's social media posts did not amount to harassment but found him guilty of criminal damage in relation to the phone. He denied both charges.

District Judge Briony Clarke said that while Linehan's posts were "unattractive, annoying and irritating", as well as "deeply unpleasant and even unnecessary", they were not "oppressive or unacceptable" and therefore did not meet the criminal standard for harassment.

She also did not find that the complainant, a biological male who identifies as a woman, "was as 'alarmed and distressed' as they portrayed themself to be by these messages and this course of conduct".

Linehan was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £650 and a statutory surcharge of £200.

The judge added that it was "not for the court to pick a side" on the "continuing debate about rights of individuals regarding their sex and gender identity".

During his trial, Linehan told the court he believed exposing the tactics of trans activists was in the public interest, and that knocking the phone was a "reflex response".

He said his life had been "made hell" by transgender activists and journalists because of his views about gender identity.