UK police apologize to 'Father Ted' creator Graham Linehan for arrest over trans social media posts

The Metropolitan Police has issued an apology to an Irish comedy writer who was arrested over his social media posts criticizing transgender issues, according to a new report.

Graham Linehan, creator of "Father Ted," was detained by five armed officers at Heathrow Airport in September 2025 on suspicion of inciting violence. The Telegraph reported that Lynsay Watson, a transgender former police officer, reported Linehan for a hate crime stemming from three social media posts Linehan had posted criticizing transgender activists.

Prosecutors later dropped the case. Linehan announced in October he intended to sue the force for wrongful arrest.

After a five-month investigation, the Met Police has now apologized for how his case was handled and vowed to learn from the experience.

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"I apologize to Mr Linehan for the shortcomings in this investigation," Met Police Inspector Matt Hume said, according to a police report obtained by The Telegraph. "The Met Police remains committed to lawful, proportionate policing and to learning from failings when they arise."

"I accept that the service provided was not acceptable and recognize the distress and impact this matter has caused Mr. Linehan," he added.

Linehan has long been a vocal critic of gender ideology. One of the social media posts which triggered the arrest read, "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."

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His arrest sparked international outrage over the UK's free speech policies.

"What the f--- has the U.K. become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable," "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling wrote at the time.

Last October, the Met announced it would no longer investigate "non-crime hate incidents" as a result of the high-profile case.

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None of the police officers involved in Linehan's arrest will face discipline, according to The Telegraph, but Scotland Yard said it would work to change the way it "handles future hate-crime allegations involving high-profile people."

Hume's report allegedly concluded that Linehan's arrest was lawful, but the investigation was "flawed" because officers had wrongly focused on the transgender criticism in his posts, "rather than the alleged incitement to violence," according to The Telegraph.

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"I therefore accept that, at times, both the investigation and arrest phases lacked the diligence one would expect from the MPS," Hume wrote.

The Free Speech Union (FSU), which supported Linehan's legal case, said it welcomed the police apology, calling Linehan's arrest and detention "an unacceptable interference in his right to free speech."

"We look forward to working with the Met Police and other police services to ensure their response to complaints about social media posts in future has due regard to freedom of expression," the group said in a statement to The Telegraph.

In a post to X, Linehan appeared to mock the police apology.

"This, from the 'apology' I received from the police, doesn't sound like an apology," he said before quoting the report.

Linehan and the Met did not immediately return Fox News Digital's requests for comment.