Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley said his force has been left in an “impossible position” amid a firestorm over Father Ted creator Graham Linehan’s arrest at Heathrow.
In a bombshell statement released on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner said officers should not be “policing toxic culture wars debates” as he pointed the finger of blame at the Government.
Sir Mark called for the law to be changed and said the force will now only take action on social media abuse “where there is a clear risk of harm or disorder”.
Without naming Linehan, he appeared to tacitly acknowledge that his was a “lesser” case, adding that “where there is ambiguity in terms of intent and harm, policing has been left between a rock and a hard place by successive governments”.
The statement comes as a row raged over the arrest of Linehan, 57, who said he had been detained by five armed officers at Heathrow over social media posts about trans people.
Bafta-winning Linehan claimed online after being escorted to a private area, officers informed him he had been held “for three tweets”.
Several high-profile figures condemned the arrest, with Author JK Rowling labelling it “utterly deplorable” and Elon Musk descrbing the UK as a “police state”.
When asked about the arrest at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer said the police must “focus on the most serious issues”.
Sir Mark’s statement reads: “On Monday, officers arrested a man in his 50s at Heathrow in relation to allegations of inciting violence, linked to posts on X. The officers involved in the arrest had reasonable grounds to believe an offence had been committed under the Public Order Act.
“While the decision to investigate and ultimately arrest the man was made within existing legislation – which dictates that a threat to punch someone from a protected group could be an offence – I understand the concern caused by such incidents given differing perspectives on the balance between free speech and the risks of inciting violence in the real world.
“Most reasonable people would agree that genuine threats of physical violence against an identified person or group should be acted upon by officers. Such actions can and do have serious and violent real-world implications.
“But when it comes to lesser cases, where there is ambiguity in terms of intent and harm, policing has been left between a rock and a hard place by successive governments who have given officers no choice but to record such incidents as crimes when they’re reported. Then they are obliged to follow all lines of enquiry and take action as appropriate.
“I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates and officers are currently in an impossible position. I have offered to provide suggestions to the Home Office on where the law and policy should be clarified. Greater clarity and common sense would enable us to limit the resources we dedicate to tackling online statements to those cases creating real threats in the real world. If agreed, we could be ready to test new approaches quickly, within a matter of weeks.
“As an immediate way of protecting our officers from the situation we find ourselves in today, we will be putting in place a more stringent triaging process to make sure only the most serious cases are taken forward in future – where there is a clear risk of harm or disorder.
“But officers across the country will have to make similar decisions in future unless the law and guidance is changed or clarified. I hope to see this happen without delay so policing’s focus can be squarely on tackling priority issues like street crime and serious violence.”
One of Linehan’s posts on X from April 20 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, on April 19, was a picture of a trans rally with the caption: “A photo you can smell.”
The third was a follow up to this tweet which said: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.”
Piers Morgan also weighed-in, writing: “What’s happened to [Linehan] today is absolutely ridiculous. Five armed cops arresting him at Heathrow for tweets mocking the scandal of biological men invading women’s spaces? When it comes to free speech, Britain’s turning into North Korea.”
Linehan is due to face trial this month accused of harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks, 18, on social media and damaging her mobile in October.
In 2023, he recalled in his book titled Tough Crowd: How I Made And Lost A Career In Comedy, how championing “an unfashionable cause” cost him his livelihood.
Lineham created Father Ted in the 1990s with fellow Irish writer Arthur Mathews and came up with TV sitcoms The IT Crowd and Black Books.
