Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow on Suspicion of Inciting Violence

London, 2 September 2025 - Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Monday, 1 September, on suspicion of inciting violence in connection with social media posts made earlier this year.

Linehan, 57, arriving on a flight from Arizona, was met by armed officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Aviation Unit and taken into custody at approximately 1 pm. Concerned by his raised blood pressure during questioning, officers had him transported to a nearby hospital; his condition was assessed as neither life-threatening nor life-changing.

He was subsequently granted conditional bail pending further investigation. One bail condition prohibits him from accessing the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. The alleged offences relate to three X posts from April in which Linehan asserted that a “trans-identified male” in female-only spaces should be confronted, including the suggestion to “punch him in the balls,” and described a trans rights protest as “a photo you can smell”.

Linehan recounted the incident on his Substack blog, writing that “five armed police officers” escorted him to a private detention area and confiscated his personal devices. He claimed the arrest stemmed solely from “jokes” made in his posts.

The arrest prompted criticism from opposition figures and public commentators. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick described the deployment of armed officers to detain a comedian over social media entries as “ridiculous and a complete waste of police time,” while JK Rowling called the arrest “totalitarianism” in a post on X. Conservative MPs accused the police of focusing on jokes rather than serious crime, and Nigel Farage announced plans to raise the case with allies of former US President Donald Trump to discuss free speech issues.

Linehan is already due to face trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 4 September on separate charges of harassing a transgender activist and criminal damage to her phone, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Further police interviews regarding the incitement allegation are scheduled for October.