TV writer and activist Graham Linehan has been cleared of harassment but convicted of criminal damage following a confrontation with trans teenager Sophia Brooks outside a women's rights conference in Westminster last October. The 57-year-old creator of Father Ted and Black Books was fined £500 for grabbing and throwing Brooks's phone into the road.
At Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, District Judge Briony Clarke found Linehan not guilty of harassment, stating that Brooks's evidence had been 'not entirely truthful'. However, she convicted him of criminal damage, describing the act as not a hate crime but aggravated by Brooks being 17 at the time.
Speaking outside court, Linehan expressed satisfaction with the verdict, saying he was 'proud to have stood up to' trans activists. He claimed the trial was part of a campaign by 'dangerous men determined to bully women and girls' and misuse the courts. He thanked supporters from the Free Speech Union and called out to Brooks: 'Leave women alone.'
The judge ruled that Linehan's social media posts, including calling Brooks a 'domestic terrorist', were 'deeply unpleasant' but did not amount to oppressive conduct. She dismissed Linehan's defence that he threw the phone to prevent a criminal offence, saying he could reasonably have known it would be damaged.
Linehan was ordered to pay £650 in costs and a £200 court fee, with no compensation for the unrepaired phone. His lawyer, Sarah Vine KC, indicated an appeal against the criminal damage conviction is likely. The judge refused to impose a restraining order.
