The Government may need to “sort out” police priorities following the arrest of Graham Linehan over anti-trans tweets, a minister has said.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Wednesday said: “We want to see people being kept safe by policing streets, not just policing tweets.”
He was speaking after Father Ted co-creator Linehan was arrested at Heathrow on Monday on suspicion of inciting violence over a series of gender-critical posts on the social media platform X.
The Irish comedy writer, 57, alleges that he was detained by five armed officers immediately after he stepped off a plane from Arizona.
Mr Streeting said as a Government Minister he was “not able to comment on live police investigations”, but added: “I think the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have been very clear that with the law and order challenges we've got in our country we want to see people being kept safe by policing streets, not just policing tweets.”
He told Times Radio: “The police enforce the laws of the land that we as legislators provide. So if we're not getting the balance right then that's something that we all have to look at and consider."
"Given policing challenges, given the Home Secretary's personal determination to improve safety on our streets, she of course is looking at whether the things that we parliament over the years have asked police to do are the right things to do.
“Because honestly it's very easy for us all to criticise the police but the police are there to enforce laws that parliament has passed. If the police are enforcing things that we think are a waste of time or a distraction from more important things, that's on us to sort out.”
Bafta-winner Linehan claimed that after being escorted to a private area in the airport, officers informed him he was been held “for three tweets”.
High-profile figures have condemned the arrest, including Harry Potter author JK Rowling who labelled it “utterly deplorable”.
X owner Elon Musk described the UK as a “police state” and Nigel Farage is set to bring up the incident when he appears before the US House Judiciary Committee in Washington DC on Wednesday.
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the Prime Minister believes in “free speech” and thought that officers should spend their time dealing with “issues that matter most to our communities”.
In an April 20 post on X, Linehan said: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”
A second tweet, posted the previous day, was a picture of a trans rally with the caption: “A photo you can smell.”
The Metropolitan Police said: “On Monday, September 1 at 1pm officers arrested a man at Heathrow Airport after he arrived on an inbound American Airlines flight.
“The man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence. This is in relation to posts on X.
“After being taken to police custody, officers became concerned for his health and he was taken to hospital.
“His condition is neither life-threatening nor life-changing. “He has now been bailed pending further investigation.”
