“Father Ted” writer Graham Linehan has received a groveling apology from Britain’s largest police force eight months after he was arrested by armed cops for social media posts critical of the transgender issue.
Linehan, 57, was taken into custody by London’s Metropolitan Police as he arrived at Heathrow Airport last September and told his X posts were hate speech, after a transgender former cop reported him.
Scotland Yard finally accepted it was a mistake and apologized for the arrest that sparked a storm of criticism.
A five-month investigation found that “the service provided was not acceptable and recognize the distress and impact this matter has caused Mr. Linehan,” Inspector Matt Hume, from the department’s directorate of professional standards, wrote in a report obtained by the Telegraph.
However, none of the five armed officers who arrested Linehan will see any punishment beyond “learning “through reflection,” the Telegraph said.
However, the Met said it will change how it handles hate-crime allegations with high-profile people, according to the report.
Lineham said Sunday that “the ‘apology’ I received from the police, doesn’t sound like an apology.” He quoted a part of it as stating: “The Met concluded that while the arrest was lawful, aspects of the investigation were flawed and misunderstood, with officers focusing on the anti-transgender nature of Linehan’s posts and inadequately on the alleged incitement to violence.”
Linehan was arrested over three posts he made on X back in April 2025, including one that 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.”
Even at the time, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley acknowledged his department had been” left between a rock and a hard place” with regards to investigating so-called online hate speech.
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