UK police caught in 'toxic culture wars', chief says after Linehan's arrest

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's most senior police chief defended on Wednesday the arrest of an Irish comedy writer over comments about transgender issues, saying officers were in an impossible position arbitrating between free speech and criminal content.

Graham Linehan, co-creator of popular TV comedy shows "Father Ted" and "The IT Crowd", said on Tuesday he had been detained by armed police at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence in relation to posts on X.

That sparked a backlash from free speech advocates.

"When Did Britain become North Korea?" asked the Daily Mail newspaper on its front page.

Explaining his officers' decision to arrest Linehan, London police Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement they had reasonable grounds to believe he had committed a public order offence but said he understood concerns.

He said people would agree action was needed when the threat of violence was obvious, but in lesser cases police had 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.

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

Linehan, 57, has been a vocal critic of transgender activism. In one X post, he wrote: "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."

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES?

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has faced repeated accusations from critics that the state is curtailing free expression and social media companies have criticised new online safety laws designed to protect children and remove hate speech.

Britain's health minister Wes Streeting acknowledged the potential for unintended consequences of the legislation.

"We are all ... quite anxious about some of the cases we've seen in the media or proceed through the courts of what people have said online, where you think 'was that really what parliament intended when they passed these laws?'" he told BBC radio.

Rowley said greater clarity on the law was needed, and in the meantime processes would be put in place so only "the most serious cases" were taken forward where there was a clear risk of harm.

Linehan said he was released on bail without charges on Tuesday, but is due to go on trial later this week on separate charges of harassment and criminal damage involving a transgender activist.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)