Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has been awarded £25,000 in compensation from the Metropolitan Police after the force admitted 'shortcomings' in his arrest and investigation. The sitcom writer was arrested at Heathrow Airport in September last year on suspicion of inciting violence following a complaint about his gender-critical posts on X, formerly Twitter.
Arrest and Detention
Upon arriving from Arizona, Linehan was questioned about three posts. He was detained and later suffered high blood pressure, requiring hospital treatment. He was released on restrictive bail conditions that barred him from posting on X.
Legal Action and Apology
With support from the Free Speech Union, Linehan launched legal action for wrongful arrest and breach of free speech. In May, the Met issued an unreserved apology, and this week agreed to pay £25,000. A senior officer wrote: 'Whilst there can be no doubt that all officers acted in good faith... the investigation identified shortcomings in both the investigation, arrest and imposition of bail conditions.' The letter added: 'We apologise to you for those shortcomings and for the distress and inconvenience which he suffered as a result.'
Impact and Policy Change
Linehan told The Telegraph the compensation would help as he had been 'on his uppers'. The Met spokesperson said: 'We recognise the considerable distress caused to Mr Linehan, and have offered our sincere apologies. This case prompted a significant change, which means the Met no longer investigates non-crime hate incidents.'
Lord Young of Acton, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: 'I'm beginning to lose count of the number of cases we've fought in which the police have arrested someone for a tweet, decided to take no further action and then had to pay them substantial compensation for wrongful arrest.'
Current Status
No further action was taken against Linehan on October 20. He now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, on a three-year visa, hoping for a green card. He told Joe Rogan: 'Rob Schneider has shown me incredible kindness and brought me over to work on a few projects… My visa's three years, and my aim is to make myself so useful to the Americans that they won't let me go!'
