Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan is set to face trial, accused of harassing a transgender woman, days after his arrest over social media posts.
The 57-year-old comedy writer has denied harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks on social media and a further charge of damaging her mobile phone in October.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for the start of his trial.
Linehan, who created Father Ted in the 1990s with fellow Irish writer Arthur Mathews, said in a post on X in April that the allegations were related to an incident at the Battle of Ideas conference in London on October 19.
According to court documents, he is charged with harassing the alleged victim by posting abusive comments about her on social media between October 11 and October 27, and damaging her phone to the value of £369 on the day of the conference.
In May, following a hearing in the case, Linehan said he has “lost a great deal” but “will not waver in my resolve”.
The Bafta-winning writer, who also came up with TV sitcoms The IT Crowd and Black Books, was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Monday on suspicion of inciting violence in three posts he had made on X about trans issues.
The arrest has sparked debate – with opposition politicians and Harry Potter author JK Rowling among those who have criticised the move, while the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said his officers are in “an impossible position” when dealing with statements made online, and should not be “policing toxic culture wars debates”.
Writing in the Daily Mail on Thursday, Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch said Mr Linehan’s arrest showed “values of free speech are being slowly eroded by people weaponising the law and using it for petty squabbling”.
“Five police officers should not be sent to silence a comedian for saying what most people believe, no matter who is complaining,” she said.
“The whole episode raises serious questions. What does it say about our country that someone can be flagged as they fly home from the US, not for terrorism, trafficking or fraud, but for expressing opinions online?”
