The head of the police force that arrested Father Ted creator Graham Linehan said his officers are in “an impossible position” when dealing with statements made online, and should not be “policing toxic culture wars debates”.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he has made suggestions to the Government about how laws governing social media posts could be changed, and is ready to test new approaches “within a matter of weeks”.
His force came under fire after Linehan, 57, was arrested at Heathrow Airport over three posts he had made on X about trans issues.
In his first statement after the controversy erupted, Sir Mark said: “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 inquiry 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.”
