The Metropolitan Police has issued an apology to Father Ted creator Graham Linehan

[EvangelicalAboutButteredToast]

The Metropolitan Police has issued an apology to Father Ted creator Graham Linehan after he was arrested over gender-critical comments posted on social media.

The comedy writer, 57, was detained by five armed officers at Heathrow Airport last September on suspicion of a public order offence linked to posts he made on X months earlier. After several hours of questioning, he was released on bail and later informed that no charges would be brought.

Following a five-month investigation into the incident, Scotland Yard admitted the handling of the case was “not acceptable” and offered an unreserved apology.

In a report, Insp Matt Hume said: “I accept that the service provided was not acceptable and recognise the distress and impact this matter has caused Mr Linehan.”

The report found that parts of the investigation were flawed and lacked proper diligence, partly due to inexperienced officers and poor supervision.

The case also reignited debate around hate-crime laws and freedom of expression. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley later stated: “I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates and officers are currently in an impossible position.”

Thank you for posting this. I'm not a great fan of GL - writes brilliant stuff, but no loss to the diplomatic service😏- but I admire his commitment and resolve, and it's great that the OTT police action against him has been recognised as wrong.

I think it has probably peaked a lot of 'neutrals', and GL is to be praised for his calm behaviour during the detention, because it showed up the OTTness of sending five armed officers to detain someone who clearly would have cooperated if two unarmed officers had approached him and said 'Excuse me Sir, would you mind coming down the the station and helping us with our enquiries?'

Excellent news. I can't remember is he's pursued damages here - does anyone know?

Nothing he said in that tweet was offensive unless you're unreasonably thin skinned. And freedom of speech includes freedom to say something legal but offensive. It's ridiculous because far more people (mostly women) find the presence of men in women's spaces more offensive and frankly frightening than anyone could possibly find Graham's tweet.

And Graham definitely found the arrest and way he was treated frightening and offensive, and i think it impacted his health too IIRC. Police should not be able to actually harm people just because someone complains about a tweet. FFS.

They owe him more than an apology. There need to be consequences for policing speech in this way (i.e. sackings) because otherwise there is a chillling effect. An apology doesn't really cut it.

Does everyone remember when KJK was visited by police for being 'untoward about paedophiles'? And yet actual locking up of real paedophiles for reasonable periods of time is somewhat lacking.

The Met police still claim they were correct to arrest him in the first place for his tweeting so the 'apology' is more about the manner in which he was arrested rather than the fact he was arrested at all.

In my opinion, that's not good enough on their part - they're showing no realisation that they are effectively arresting people for political speech and jokes that they, as instruments of the state, don't approve of.

About bloody time.

It wasn’t an apology for overreaction and overreach. It was an apology for bringing to the public’s attention. It was mealy mouthed and insincere

we accept the service provided was not acceptable

..... what?

The 'service' provided to whom? GL with 5 armed officers over a tweet? The tax payers?

This country is broke, the police can't turn out to actual crimes, why is money being hosed on absolute wasting of time and resources like this? What the hell did that little 'service' in the airport cost in terms of resources? What resources were held up that should have been available for actual police work that day, and who signed off on it?

Yes and how many women and men have been frightened to the extent they no longer can express their legally protected beliefs as a result of that 'service'?

They were definitely channeling the Stasi that day.

You know what I wondered the other day, seeing little Owen Jones’s pop up in some argument on the TV last week, where did he go on this debate? He was massively active on this issue online calling everyone names. Then he disappeared.

The case also reignited debate around hate-crime laws and freedom of expression. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley later stated: “I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates and officers are currently in an impossible position.”

No Mr Rowley you are not in an impossible position, you are choosing to react the way you do. Stop blaming others for your abject failures.

And women's rights in law to single sex spaces is not a 'toxic culture war' it's a 'you should fucking obey the law and not bully people pointing out it is the law given you're the fucking police' issue.

Really we need to know who, exactly, authorised this extremely heavy handed intimidation and abuse of GL. Because if saying blokes in the ladies is intimidating to women is 'offensive' then what happened to GL is clearly harassment and abuse. HOW did the Police reach the decision to bully and intimidate him in this way? Is someone in the Police using it as their own bully mob, and in the process breaking the law (I would argue yes).

“I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates and officers are currently in an impossible position.”

What the hell? Toxic culture wars?
Im surprised Mr Rowley is talking about basic biology and the Supreme Court like that?!
Its almost like he doesn’t understand his own bias

His officers are also not in an 'impossible position'. It's actually quite easy to follow the law of the land and do what police are supposed to do and don't go and threaten people with guns like the Stasi for having opinions on twitter.

Fucks sake.