Police watchdog finds that Met Police could have unfairly arrested Graham Linehan

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

15 October 2026

In the latest development in Graham Linehan's case, the police watchdog has found that the Metropolitan Police could have unfairly arrested the Irish comedian and Father Ted creator due to his anti-trans views.

Last year, Graham Linehan was arrested as he landed from Arizona at Heathrow airport by five armed Met Police officers and hauled off for questioning. While in custody, his blood pressure rose so alarmingly high that he was rushed to A&E in the early hours of the morning. His 'crime'? Three gender-critical posts on X.

The case is one of the most egregious that the Free Speech Union has ever seen and even reached the attention of senior members of the Trump administration, which expressed its shock. The arrests of Graham Linehan and Lucy Connolly are emblematic of the free speech crisis we are witnessing in Britain today.

With the support of the Free Speech Union, Graham Linehan sent a pre-action letter to the Met Police arguing that his arrest was unlawful and breached his right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The Met Police offered Graham a full and unreserved public apology and a compensation payout of £25,000.

Mr Linehan also submitted a complaint to the Directorate of Professional Standards and asked them to investigate the police's conduct in both arresting and detaining him in September 2025.

Scotland Yard's own internal investigation found that the detention of the Irish comedian was unacceptable, yet no officers were ever disciplined.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has now ruled, following its review, that the Met Police's investigation into Graham's arrest "did not go far enough" and described its findings as "not reasonable or proportionate". The Met Police have now been ordered to re-investigate the complaints made by Mr Linehan, with the watchdog pointing to a legal ruling that found that anti-trans views could be considered a "protected characteristic". As the Free Speech Union has consistently pointed out, gender-critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010 and were once again reaffirmed by last year's Supreme Court ruling, which found that "sex" is defined by biology and not gender identity.

The IOPC's findings stated:

"If the force cannot establish sound rationale concerning the legality of the arrest, the application of Article 10 and the reasons justifying bail conditions, then there may be sufficient evidence pointing towards a conclusion that Mr Linehan received unfair treatment (including in interview) due to his potential protected characteristic."

Scotland Yard's review found that aspects of the investigation were "flawed and misunderstood" and also conceded that the investigation had been "adversely affected" by the lack of experience of an overworked trainee detective who was put in charge.

In response to the latest IOPC finding, Mr Linehan said: "The so-called complainant in this case has made scores of spurious claims, as evidenced by the High Court claims that he has lost.

"The only possible reason the Met acted in the extreme way they did was political bias. That the Met sought to cover this up is yet more evidence of a two-tier approach to the policing of this debate."

General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, Lord Young of Acton, said: "This finding by the IOPC is very welcome. I hope it means that in future the police will take freedom-of-expression rights into consideration before arresting someone for a tweet."

The Free Speech Union is proud to continue supporting Graham Linehan in his case.

Read more in The Telegraph.