Met Police apologizes to Graham Linehan over wrongful arrest at Heathrow

The Metropolitan Police has apologized to Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan for shortcomings in the investigation that led to his arrest at Heathrow Airport.

Linehan, the creator of "Father Ted," was detained by five armed officers in September 2025 on suspicion of inciting violence. The arrest followed a complaint from Lynsay Watson, a transgender former police officer, who reported three of Linehan's social media posts criticizing transgender activists as a hate crime.

Prosecutors later dropped the case. Linehan said in October that he planned to sue the force for wrongful arrest.

After a five-month review, Met Police Inspector Matt Hume issued an apology. "I apologize to Mr Linehan for the shortcomings in this investigation," Hume said in a report obtained by The Telegraph. "The Met Police remains committed to lawful, proportionate policing and to learning from failings when they arise."

Hume added that the service provided was not acceptable and recognized the distress caused to Linehan. The report concluded that the arrest itself was lawful but that officers had wrongly focused on the transgender criticism in the posts rather than the alleged incitement to violence.

None of the officers involved will face discipline. Scotland Yard said it would change how it handles future hate-crime allegations involving high-profile people.

The Free Speech Union, which supported Linehan's legal case, welcomed the apology and called the arrest an unacceptable interference in his right to free speech. It said it would work with the Met to ensure future complaints about social media posts take proper account of freedom of expression.

Linehan posted on X that the statement did not sound like an apology. Linehan and the Met did not immediately respond to requests for comment.