Irish TV Comedy Writer Says UK ‘No Longer Free Country’ After Arrest Over Social Media Posts
Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, the creator of the hit sitcom Father Ted, says his arrest over social media posts criticizing transgender activists shows how far the United Kingdom has drifted from its free speech tradition.
“I think my case proves that there is a terrible free speech problem in the U.K., but sadly, I’ve seen that happen now for eight years,” Linehan told Fox News Digital. “They just want to put you in a cell and scare you into not talking about certain issues.”
Linehan said he was detained on Sept. 1 at Heathrow Airport by five armed officers who accused him of breaching the Public Order Act after three posts on X criticizing transgender activists. Police later tied the arrest to an allegation of affray — a charge typically involving physical violence that can carry a three-year prison sentence.
One of the posts that triggered the complaint read: “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.”
“They didn’t name anybody. There was no target,” Linehan said. “One of them made an argument about how women should keep themselves safe when they’re approached by a man who shouldn’t be in one of their spaces. Advice I would give my daughter at the drop of a hat.”
Released on bail under conditions barring him from using X until an October follow-up interview, Linehan said even the arresting officers seemed embarrassed. “These are big, tooled-up guys who’ve been training with weapons, and they’re being used to arrest a comedy writer. It’s humiliating to them.”
Career Fallout And Free Speech Concerns
Linehan said he began speaking out about gender ideology nearly a decade ago after watching women “lose work and opportunities” for questioning it. The backlash cost him his entertainment career and turned him into a target for harassment by transgender activists.
“The moment I started speaking out about it, my life was kind of destroyed,” he said. “I was cold-shouldered by my entire business. Up until then, I was somewhat lauded as an example of a comedy writer who was fairly consistent in producing quality work. And the entire U.K. entertainment system turned their back on me.”
Now living in the U.S., Linehan says stronger legal protections for speech were part of his decision to relocate. “The U.K. is no longer really a free country,” he said. “People like me know we’re not going to get a fair hearing in the U.K. But in the U.S., speech is protected. These kinds of vexatious complainants don’t get as easy a time as they do in the U.K.”
Linking His Arrest To Rising Violence
Linehan also reflected on the national conversation surrounding free speech in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at a Utah university.
He contrasted the seriousness of Kirk’s assassination with liberal outrage over ABC temporarily suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after he falsely linked Kirk’s killer, Tyler Robinson, to the “MAGA gang.” Kimmel’s supporters accused the Trump administration of censorship, but he returned to air less than a week later.
“To look at Jimmy Kimmel, who took a three-day holiday from his show, and to call that the greatest example of free speech suppression, even in the same week that Charlie Kirk got shot, I just find mind-blowing,” Linehan said. “Clearly, the most pressing threat to free speech is far-left activism, which killed Charlie and continues to be a threat.”
Praise For Trump And Kirk
Linehan said he was grateful that President Donald Trump recently designated Antifa as a terrorist organization, saying he’s seen its black-clad agitators harass women at events he’s attended.
He also praised Kirk for his approach to controversial debates. “His arguments were all done in good faith with great empathy and respect for everybody involved,” Linehan said. “And they just couldn’t get him. I think the reason they killed him was because they couldn’t beat his arguments so they had to shut him up. I think it’s a very sad thing.”