Police left ‘between a rock and a hard place’ amid debate over Linehan arrest

The head of the police force that arrested Father Ted creator Graham Linehan said his officers are in “an impossible position” when dealing with statements made online, and should not be “policing toxic culture wars debates”.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he would make suggestions to the Government about how laws governing social media posts could be changed, and is ready to test new approaches “within a matter of weeks”.

Asked about the arrest during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said police should focus on “the most serious issues”, like knife crime and violence, and that he would “always defend” the right to free speech.

The Met came under fire after Linehan, 57, was arrested at Heathrow Airport over three posts he had made on X about trans issues.

In his first statement after the controversy erupted, Sir Mark said: “While the decision to investigate and ultimately arrest the man was made within existing legislation, which dictates that a threat to punch someone from a protected group could be an offence, I understand the concern caused by such incidents given differing perspectives on the balance between free speech and the risks of inciting violence in the real world.

“Most reasonable people would agree that genuine threats of physical violence against an identified person or group should be acted upon by officers.

“Such actions can and do have serious and violent real-world implications.

“But when it comes to lesser cases, where there is ambiguity in terms of intent and harm, policing has been left between a rock and a hard place by successive governments, who have given officers no choice but to record such incidents as crimes when they’re reported.

“Then they are obliged to follow all lines of inquiry and take action as appropriate.

“I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates and officers are currently in an impossible position.”

Writer Linehan was arrested at Heathrow on Monday after flying in from Arizona, on suspicion of inciting violence in posts on X.

He said he was stopped by five armed police officers, although it is understood this is because they were from the Met’s Aviation unit and routinely carry firearms.

One of the posts said: “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.”

Another was a photograph of a trans-rights protest, with the comment “a photo you can smell”, with a follow-up post saying: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.”

After anger at his arrest Health Secretary Wes Streeting suggested the Government could look at legislation if the law is “not getting the balance right” on free speech.

In his statement Sir Mark said: “I have offered to provide suggestions to the Home Office on where the law and policy should be clarified.

“Greater clarity and common sense would enable us to limit the resources we dedicate to tackling online statements to those cases creating real threats in the real world.

“If agreed, we could be ready to test new approaches quickly, within a matter of weeks.

“As an immediate way of protecting our officers from the situation we find ourselves in today, we will be putting in place a more stringent triaging process to make sure only the most serious cases are taken forward in future – where there is a clear risk of harm or disorder.

“But officers across the country will have to make similar decisions in future unless the law and guidance is changed or clarified.

“I hope to see this happen without delay so policing’s focus can be squarely on tackling priority issues like street crime and serious violence.”

Mr Streeting told Times Radio that the Government wants “to see people being kept safe by policing streets, not just policing tweets.”

He added: “It’s very easy for people to criticise the police. The police enforce the laws of the land that we as legislators provide.

“So if we’re not getting the balance right, then that’s something that we all have to look at and consider.”

Opposition politicians and Harry Potter author JK Rowling are among those who have criticised the arrest.

Senior Tory Sir James Cleverly said the arrest looked like a “real overreaction” to what was “self-evidently a joke”.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick described the incident as “a complete waste of police time”, adding: “We desperately need to end this nonsense and go after actual criminals.”

But new Green Party leader Zack Polanski told BBC Newsnight the posts were “totally unacceptable” and the arrest seemed “proportionate”.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is expected to raise the case at a House Judiciary Committee in the US on free speech on Wednesday.

Separately, Linehan will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday accused of harassing transgender woman Sophia Brooks and damaging her phone, which he denies.

Published: 03/09/2025 by Radio NewsHub