3 h. ago Father Ted creator Linehan to face trial over alleged harassment of trans woman

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

Events

12 h. ago 'At what point did we become North Korea?' Nigel Farage blasts Keir Starmer's 'awful, authoritarian' UK as Reform leader tells US politicians free speech is under threat

The Reform leader warned that Americans - including tech moguls - could face arrest at Heathrow over online content disliked by British authorities in the wake of the arrest of Graham Linehan.

Politics

13 h. ago Nigel Farage warns US tech chiefs may be arrested when entering UK after Linehan arrest

Father Ted creator Graham Linehan yesterday (September 2) said he was arrested at Heathrow Airport over posts he shared on X which voiced his views on trans rights, opening up a 'freedom of speech' debate

Events

14 h. ago Graham Linehan shares recording of arrest after cops hauled him away for 'joke' tweets

Father Ted creator Graham Linehan shared a lengthy audio recording of his arrest, which saw five armed police officers approach him after he landed at Heathrow Airport this week

Events

15 h. ago Voices: Cracking down on transphobic hate speech doesn’t make the UK a police state

Graham Linehan's arrest for allegedly suggesting that people assault trans women is not an assault on free speech, writes Marc Burrows. The scandal is that we live in a society where some people think the language he reportedly used is acceptable

Events

15 h. ago How Graham Linehan’s gender activism led to comedian’s career armageddon

What began as a nasty Twitter spat seven years ago has led to a peculiar metamorphosis for award-winning writerIt was as he was lying on a hospital trolley, after surgery to treat testicular cancer in 2018, that Graham Linehan picked up his phone and first definitively waded into the issue of trans rights.According to his memoir, Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy, and subsequent media interviews, the Irish-born comedian could not remember quite what he wrote in those groggy early tweets but it nailed “my colours to the gender-critical mast”. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago How Graham Linehan’s gender activism led to career armageddon

What began as a nasty Twitter spat seven years ago has led to a peculiar metamorphosis for the comedy writerIt was as he was lying on a hospital trolley, after surgery to treat testicular cancer in 2018, that Graham Linehan picked up his phone and first definitively waded into the issue of trans rights.According to his memoir, Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy, and subsequent media interviews, the Irish-born comedian could not remember quite what he wrote in those groggy early tweets but it nailed “my colours to the gender-critical mast”. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago Father Ted creator Graham Linehan to sue Met over arrest for ‘anti

JK Rowling and Elon Musk among high-profile critics of arrest of Irish comedian, 57, by armed officers after stepping off flight at Heathrow

Events

17 h. ago Met police chief calls for review of law after Graham Linehan arrest

Rowley says officers should not be ‘policing toxic culture wars debates’ and are in an impossible positionThe Metropolitan police have declined to drop their investigation into the comedy writer Graham Linehan for tweets about trans issues, and said that the law used by officers to detain him needs reviewing.The Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said on Wednesday officers should not be “policing toxic culture wars debates”, and while any review took place, officers would investigate only more serious cases concerning online messages. Continue reading...

Events

17 h. ago Nigel Farage urges Trump to use 'diplomacy and trade' to pressure Britain on free speech ahead of appearance in front of US politicians TODAY

The Reform leader and MP is due to say Britain has become an 'authoritarian censorship regime' after the arrest of Irish writer Graham Linehan for posting trans-critical tweets.

Politics

17 h. ago Graham Linehan is 'considering suing the Met' after being arrested over 'anti

The Father Ted creator was detained by five armed officers as he returned to Britain from Arizona, and accused of 'inciting violence' in relation to three posts he had made on X.

Events

17 h. ago Met chief backs officers over Graham Linehan arrest row, but says they shouldn’t ‘police toxic culture wars’

Both Sir Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting have re-emphasised that police should prioritise street crime following backlash over Graham Linehan’s arrest

Events

18 h. ago Met chief blames Government for Graham Linehan arrest furore: ‘We shouldn't be policing toxic culture wars debates’

Sir Mark Rowley says officers should not be ‘policing toxic culture wars debates’ - and calls for a change in the law

Events

18 h. ago Police left ‘between a rock and a hard place’ amid debate over Linehan arrest

Head of the Met Police Sir Mark Rowley said his officers should not be ‘policing toxic culture wars’ and are in ‘an impossible position’.

Events

18 h. ago Free speech laws 'need to be looked at' after Graham Linehan's arrest over 'anti

The Health Secretary has waded into the fresh debate about free speech in the UK after Linehan told how he was dealt with 'like a terrorist', held in a cell and then had to be rushed to hospital.

Events

18 h. ago Father Ted creator Graham Linehan releases audio of trans tweets arrest: 'Holy s**t, I don't believe it'

The Father Ted creator is heard being told to ‘calm down’ by police, as he responds: ‘I won’t calm down’

Events

18 h. ago Streeting says officers should ‘police streets not tweets’ after Graham Linehan arrest

Father Ted creator claimed he was arrested ‘like a terrorist’ at Heathrow Airport on Monday

Events

19 h. ago Graham Linehan releases audio of his arrest by armed police after being detained over 'anti

Linehan was detained at Heathrow by five armed officers as he returned to Britain from Arizona , and accused of 'inciting violence' in relation to three posts he had made on X while living in the US.

Events

19 h. ago Elon Musk says UK has become a 'police state' amid backlash over Graham Linehan's trans tweets arrest

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is expected to raise the issue in front of the House Judiciary Committee in Washington

Events

19 h. ago Streeting says hate speech laws are having ‘unintended consequences’ after arrest of Father Ted writer – UK politics live

Health secretary says government needs to balance legislation so police are ‘not just policing tweets’ following detention of Graham Linehan over posts on transgender issuesAt the Downing Street lobby briefing yesterday the PM’s spokesperson was reluctant to comment directly on the arrest of Graham Linehan. But he did say that Keir Starmer thought the police should be focusing on “antisocial behaviour, shoplifting, street crime, as well as reducing serious violent crimes like knife crime and violence against women”. The Daily Telegraph has interepreted that as an attack on the Met.Wes Streeting, the health secretary, was on the media round this morning and in some respects he adopted the same line. Asked about the arrest, he told Times Radio:I think the prime minister and the home secretary have been very clear that with the law and order challenges we’ve got in our country, we want to see people being kept safe by policing streets, not just policing tweets.One thing I would say, be...

Politics