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The co-creator of the U.K. sitcom “Father Ted” was arrested at London Heathrow Airport on Monday allegedly over several social media posts criticizing transgender activists.
Graham Linehan recounted the ordeal on his Substack, saying there were signs of something strange happening before he landed in London.
According to the former comedy writer, a gate agent in the U.S. said he did not have a seat on his flight back home and needed to be issued a new ticket – something he didn’t think much of at the time. However, since the arrest, Linehan wrote on Substack that he believes he was flagged because “someone, somewhere, probably wearing unconvincing make-up” made a call.
“Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling, who has also been an outspoken critic of trans activism, slammed the arrest, writing “What the f— has the U.K. become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable.”
Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe said, “Linehan today, you tomorrow. Make your objections known now.”
“Britain is now a total laughingstock – a country where we arrest the authors of light comedies and interrogate them about their tweets. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious,” Conservative Party MP Neil O’Brien wrote on X after the arrest.
Additionally, conservative activist Robby Starbuck slammed the U.K., saying the country has “no free speech” and that “the feelings of transgenders [and] migrants come before the rights of everyone else.”

J.K. Rowling speaks up on transgender people invading women’s spaces. (Getty Images)
The Free Speech Union, an organization dedicated to the defense of freedom of expression, also condemned the arrest and vowed to support Linehan.
“We do not believe Graham’s arrest or the bail conditions imposed were lawful. We will be backing him all the way in his fight against these preposterous allegations and the disproportionate response from the police,” the organization wrote on X.
Lord Toby Young of Acton confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Free Speech Union would be paying for Linehan’s legal team.
“The over-zealous policing of social media posts by the British police is turning the country into an international laughingstock,” Young told Fox News Digital. “It’s particularly egregious, given that the police only respond to one in five shoplifting offenses and 75% of burglaries went unsolved last year. They are policing our tweets at the expense of policing our streets.”