9 February 2026
Graham Linehan has appeared before the influential US House Judiciary Committee to give evidence on the state of free speech in Britain. Ahead of his testimony, Graham told The Telegraph that conditions in the UK would not improve unless Sir Keir Starmer resigns as Prime Minister.
The Irish comedian and creator of Father Ted was arrested in September last year after landing at Heathrow Airport by five armed police officers over three gender-critical posts he had made on X. He was treated like a criminal for expressing lawful views on social media that are protected under the Equality Act 2010. The incident represents a textbook example of the UK's growing free speech crisis.
As the UK's closest ally, the United States is right to be concerned about the erosion of free speech in Britain. British legislation, including the Online Safety Act, now demonstrates explicit extraterritorial ambitions that pose a direct threat to the First Amendment rights of US citizens and businesses.
For years, Graham has been targeted and subjected to a sustained campaign of harassment by militant trans activists seeking to silence him and his views — despite the fact that holding gender-critical beliefs is protected under UK equality laws. In April last year, the Supreme Court ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex, not gender identity.
He has paid a significant personal and professional price for expressing lawful views, including the collapse of his career and the breakdown of his marriage. Ultimately, he took the decision in December 2025 to leave the UK and seek asylum in the United States, where he now lives in Arizona.
The Free Speech Union has stood by Graham throughout this extremely difficult period. After weeks on police bail, he was informed in October last year that the Crown Prosecution Service would be taking no further action against him. On the same day, the Metropolitan Police announced that they would no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs). The Free Speech Union is now supporting Graham in legal action against the Metropolitan Police for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.
Mr Linehan's case is one of many that has raised serious concerns among allies of President Trump who sit on the committee, along with Vice President JD Vance and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers. In August 2025, the committee sent a delegation to the UK and Europe as part of its long-running investigation into foreign censorship. The chairman of the committee, a close ally of President Trump, said they were "shocked" by the culture of censorship in the UK — particularly the impact of the Online Safety Act, which has led to the suppression of legitimate content of democratic importance on social media. This included the censorship of Katie Lam MP's speech on the grooming gangs scandal after she posted it on X.
In September last year, the committee heard evidence from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage MP, who raised the case of Lucy Connolly, a childminder and mother sentenced to 31 months in prison after making an ill-judged and intemperate post on X.
Under the Online Safety Act, social media companies face fines of up to £18 million or 10 per cent of global annual turnover (whichever is greater) if they fail to comply with Ofcom's — the Act's regulator — draconian guidelines, which dictate what content is deemed 'harmful' and must be removed. Chair of the House Judiciary Committee and close ally to President Trump, Jim Jordan, has said: "Europe's censorship unfairly targets American companies and threatens American innovation. This hearing builds on the committee's investigation into how foreign laws, regulations and judicial orders coerce online platforms into censoring US speech".
Mr Linehan urged the United States to sanction the UK over its failure to protect freedom of speech and to use every "diplomatic lever to pressure the UK government" and "make it clear that America is watching". He also argued that Congress should press the UK government to implement the landmark Supreme Court ruling issued last April, which clarified that under the Equality Act 2010, transgender women are not legally women. This process, he said, has been obstructed by the Women and Equalities Minister, Bridget Phillipson, who has blocked the publication of guidance for public bodies intended to protect women-only spaces.
It is clear that the UK is facing a free speech crisis. Graham is one of a growing number of individuals targeted by militant activists seeking to silence those who do not conform to their worldview — but he was also failed by the British state itself. The United States is right to be alarmed over the UK government's apparent disregard for freedom of speech. That disregard is now affecting the lives and constitutional rights of US citizens.
