An acclaimed comedy writer in the UK was arrested and thrown in a jail cell over three tweets that were critical of gender ideology, causing him to become extremely stressed and require hospitalisation.
In a recent Substack post, Graham Linehan recounts his arrest at Heathrow Airport upon returning from the US, a development he attributes to complaints from trans activists over three tweets.
Author JK Rowling shared the news via her X account.
What the fuck has the UK become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable. https://t.co/CRl2n9rorh
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 2, 2025
The ordeal began even before Linehan boarded his flight in Arizona. “When I handed over my passport at the gate, the official told me I didn’t have a seat and had to be re-ticketed,” he writes, initially dismissing it as a typical travel mishap. In hindsight, however, he believes it was a sign he’d been “flagged” by authorities, speculating that “Someone, somewhere, probably wearing unconvincing make-up and his sister/wife’s/mum’s underwear, had made a phone call.”
Upon landing at Heathrow, Linehan says he was met by “five armed police officers” who escorted him to a private area and informed him he was under arrest for the tweets. He emphasizes the absurdity of the situation, noting “In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilised five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer for this tweet (and no, I promise you, I am not making this up.”
The tweets in question included one showing a man in women’s clothing with the caption implying a call to challenge such individuals, and a follow-up referencing a “punch in the bollocks” as a metaphorical point about height differences and self-defense, not literal violence.
Linehan’s initial reaction was one of disbelief and humor: “When I first saw the cops, I actually laughed. I couldn’t help myself. ‘Don’t tell me! You’ve been sent by trans activists,'” he writes.
At the Heathrow police station, Linehan recounts how his belongings were confiscated, including his belt, bag, and devices. He was placed in a “small green-tiled cell with a bunk, a silver toilet in the corner and a message from Crimestoppers on the ceiling next to a concave mirror that was presumably there to make you reflect on your life choices.”
During the police interview, Linehan remarks that the tone became more intense. An officer questioned him about each tweet “with the sort of earnest intensity usually reserved for discussing something serious like… oh, I dunno—crime?”
Linehan defended his posts, explaining that the ‘punch’ tweet was “a serious point made with a joke,” explaining that “Men who enter women’s spaces ARE abusers and they need to be challenged every time.”
The conversation touched on terminology when the officer used “trans people,” prompting Linehan to challenge: “I asked him what he meant by the phrase. ‘People who feel their gender is different than what was assigned at birth.’ I said ‘Assigned at birth? Our sex isn’t assigned.'” He dismissed the officer’s response as “semantics” and accused him of using “activist language,” lamenting that “The damage Stonewall has done to the UK police force will take years to mend.”
Linehan recounts that the stress of the situation took a huge physical toll on him, and when a nurse checked on him, it was discovered that his blood pressure was “over 200—stroke territory,” and he was rushed to A&E for observation.
Linehan attributes this to “The stress of being arrested for jokes,” combined with travel fatigue, and his ongoing eight-year battle against “trans activists working in tandem with police in a dedicated, persistent harassment campaign because I refuse to believe that lesbians have cocks.”
Linehan’s account paints a picture of a surreal clash between free speech, activism, and law enforcement, highlighting his frustration with a system that now prioritises ideological complaints over real crimes.
Is it a coincidence that Linehan was on the world’s most popular podcast just three weeks ago talking about how much of a police state Britain has become?
Linehan has been targeted for cancellation and much worse for years now, since making his views on the gender issue clear:
Comedian Graham Linehan's Edinburgh show was cancelled by the venue because of his views on trans issues.
— Talk (@TalkTV) August 16, 2023
"Essentially a group of highly ideological cultists have taken over institutions across society." @JuliaHB1 | @Glinner pic.twitter.com/e3THmCKCdv
The Free Speech Union in the UK has announced that it will back Linehan, posting on X:
We do not believe Graham’s arrest or the bail conditions imposed were lawful. We will be backing him all the way in his fight against these preposterous allegations and the disproportionate response from the police.
When @Glinner landed at Heathrow, he was met by five armed police officers, and immediately arrested.
His ‘crime’? Three gender-critical tweets.
As Graham says in his Substack:
“In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women are assaulted and harassed every time they gather to speak, the state had mobilised five armed officers to arrest a comedy writer.”
Graham’s single bail condition is that he does not go on X.
When @Glinner landed at Heathrow, he was met by five armed police officers, and immediately arrested.
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) September 2, 2025
His ‘crime’? Three gender-critical tweets.
As Graham says in his Substack:
“In a country where paedophiles escape sentencing, where knife crime is out of control, where women… pic.twitter.com/1YDOhtwRRm
All of this comes in the wake of Prime Minister Kier Starmer repeatedly claiming that the UK is proud of free speech.
When armed police are standing waiting for you because you've voiced your opinions – and, as part of bail, you're not allowed to voice your opinions…
— ????????? (@sheminary) September 2, 2025
It's quite hard to argue you're a nation that has free speech.
No one is safe in Starmer’s Britain writers and authors are not under threat from imprisonment and cancellation.
— Benonwine (@benonwine) September 2, 2025
Parody is DEAD.
— Fergal Byrne #?? ???????? #DontShoot (@fergbyrne) September 2, 2025
He’s only in the Yookay for his trial this week on separate “transphobic harassment” charges.
He nearly had a stroke and had to be rushed to A&E.
So in today’s UK, five armed officers can’t be spared for knife crime on the streets, but they’ve got time to storm Heathrow over three tweets?
— mdtlion (@mdtlion) September 2, 2025
Orwell must be rolling in his grave.
How does a nation justify unleashing counter-terror style policing on a comedy writer while…
I’ve now read multiple accounts confirming he was strip-searched, which triggered the panic attack and nearly gave the man a stroke. I can’t express how angry I am — they’re an absolute disgrace, and at this point, they’re dangerous. ???
— TheCynicalBrit ??? (@CynicalBrit2023) September 2, 2025
I can't wait to hear how Starmer justifies this next time a US political figure questions him on Free Speech in the UK.. pic.twitter.com/LuBuEETafF
— Cherub Rock ? (@Cherub_Rock_23) September 2, 2025
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The mutants have taken charge of Britain. Why? Because we have suicidal empathy for the poor awkward kids who got picked on by the jocks in school … so we’ve elevated these freaks to unlimited, illegal, power.
PS … there’s NO such thing as “Trans”. No human being can change his sex. At all. Period. It’s all a performative charade. Shame on the British government and police.
“An acclaimed comedy writer in the UK was arrested and thrown in a jail cell over three tweets that were critical of gender ideology, causing him to become extremely stressed and require hospitalisation.”
It looks like the guy is familiar with the usual tricks to make an arrest easier to take and not spend much time detained in a cell. I won’t speculate about his past arrest history or comment on the charges, since the moment that somebody starts talking about gender issues as a major policy thing, they are effectively saying that they’ve given up on believing on democracy AND they have not the slightest idea of an alternative to offer. Except for the very few that have been involved in gender issues for the last thirty years or so.
Seee gawful.com for my reply
Must get a new laptop! See, not seee!
The 5 cops dancing in a field of wildflowers in gay clothes?
Welcome to 1984.
It wont be long now until this lot of parasites will be standing on front of the father explaining themselves. On the old maps of the 1500’s you can see where jesus lived on an island between japan and the united states. It was called the land of jesus and his angels who were responsible for most of the architecture of the time such as the cathedrals the catholic church stole lived in campland below it. The sea below it was called the sea of jesus around the land. Africa at this time was also full of greenery and no sahara desert existed. I would have loved to have seen it. When jesus left the catholic church formed from their babylonian origins, hijacked jesus and stole as much booty as they could as well as the muslims. Bizantine was part of the reign of jesus on earth. How far we have really fallen letting the synagogue of satan take over. Sad times.
Obvious AI bot.
You will need a better excuse for the father when he comes. Bots or ai bot or any other excuse you decide to think of probably wont work. Maybe you could say it was satans fault.
The UK has become the Orwellian state Orwell warned us of.