Keir Starmer blasts police after Father Ted creator arrested over ‘anti-trans tweets’

The writer was arrested at Heathrow Airport.

The comedy writer, who also created Black Books and The IT Crowd, said that he was arrested at Heathrow Airport, reports The Telegraph.

In a lengthy post shared to his Substack, the writer who has become a critic of the trans rights movement in recent years, said that he was arrested and detained after returning from Arizona.

In the post, he wrote: "The moment I stepped off the plane at Heathrow, five armed police officers were waiting. Not one, not two – five. They escorted me to a private area and told me I was under arrest for three tweets.

“In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilised five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer for this tweet.

“I promise you, I am not making this up.”

Linehan says that the posts he was arrested for were: “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.”

In another he shared a picture of what appears to be a trans-rights demonstration accompanied by the caption “a photo you can smell”.

He followed that post up with the comment: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F--- em”.

Linehan claimed that he was taken off the plane, placed in a van and taken to a police station at Heathrow. After being released, he said he was told that he was not allowed to go on X.

Now, a number of politicians have spoken out, critical of the police for their arrest of Linehan.

LBC report that Keir Starmer, or rather the Prime Minister's spokesperson, has told the Met to focus on tackling serious crime after the Irish writer was arrested.

The Downing Street spokesperson said police should be concentrating on issues that 'matter most to their communities'.

He said: "This is an operational matter for the police, but the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have been clear about what their priorities on crime and policing are: that’s tackling antisocial behaviour, shoplifting and street crime as well as reducing serious violent crime such as knife crime and violence against women."

Nigel Farage said: "The Graham Linehan case is yet another example of the war on freedom in the UK. I will discuss this, the Lucy Connolly case and the increasing role of our police in non-crime ‘hate’ incidents on Capitol Hill tomorrow. Free speech is under assault, and I am urging the USA to be vigilant.”

Jonathan Hinder, the MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, who is a former police inspector, said: “I love British policing and the people brave enough to do it. But cases like Graham Linehan’s airport arrest show that we need a serious reset to get the priorities right.”

And Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said: “Sending five officers to arrest a man for a tweet isn’t policing, it’s politics."