Met with police to end non-crime hate investigations after Graham Linehan case | Metropolitan Police

The Metropolitan Police said it will no longer investigate non-criminal hate incidents, with Father Ted’s co-founder Graham Linehan told no further action will be taken following his arrest over his social media posts.

The 57-year-old comedian was arrested by five armed officers at Heathrow Airport in September on suspicion of inciting violence in relation to three publications on transgender issues.

Linehan said on Monday that prosecutors had dropped the case against him, but he intended to sue the Metropolitan Police over an allegation of wrongful arrest and violation of his human rights.

“Police have informed my lawyers that I will face no further action in relation to the arrest at Heathrow Airport in September,” he said in a social media post.

“After a successful hearing to raise my bail conditions (a hearing the police officer in charge of the case did not bother to attend) the CPS dropped the case.

“With the help of the Free Expression Union, I continue to aim to hold the police to account for what is only the latest attempt to silence and suppress critical gender voices on behalf of dangerous and troubled men.”

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that it understands the public concern over the controversial issue, and that it has led to a decision to stop investigating non-criminal hate incidents – those that the complainant sees as motivated by hostility towards a particular characteristic, such as transgender identity, race or religion.

They are not criminal offences, but have so far been investigated by the Metropolitan Police, the largest police force in the country.

Linehan was arrested for a possible criminal offense, but was later demoted to a non-criminal hate incident investigation, it is understood.

The Met will continue to record non-crime-related hate incidents to assess potential community tensions.

A police spokesman said: “We understand the concern about this issue. The Commissioner has been clear that he does not believe officers should be policing toxic culture war discussions, as current laws and rules around incitement to violence online leave them in an impossible position.”

“As a result, the Metropolitan Police will no longer investigate non-crime-related hate incidents. We believe this will provide clearer guidance to officers, reduce ambiguity, and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations.”

“These incidents will continue to be recorded and used as valuable intelligence to identify potential patterns of behavior or criminality.

“We will continue to investigate and arrest those who commit hate crimes – allowing us to comply with legal guidance while focusing our resources on criminality and public protection.”

Linehan was questioned on suspicion of a public order offense in relation to his position following his arrest last month.

This sparked a row over freedom of expression, leading Prime Minister Keir Starmer to say at the time that police should focus on the most serious cases.

In one of three tweets cited by police at the time of Linehan’s arrest as evidence of an alleged crime, he wrote: “If a trans man is in a women-only space, he is committing a violent and abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops, and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”

Another was a photo of a transgender rights protest, with the caption “A photo you can smell,” and a follow-up post that read: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. Fuck them.”

The Free Expression Union said it had instructed lawyers to sue the Metropolitan Police for wrongful arrest on behalf of Linehan.

Its general secretary, Toby Young, said: “I’m glad the police dropped the case, but it should have been clear there was no case to answer in the first place. Graham should never have been interviewed about his tweets, let alone being arrested by five armed police officers and held in a cell for more than 12 hours.”

“We have instructed a team of first-rate lawyers to sue the Metropolitan Police for, among other things, wrongful arrest. Graham deserves an apology and the police must be made to pay a price so they stop behaving like the Stasi.”