Well, well, well. After disgracing Britain’s proud policing tradition by arresting Graham Linehan over his trans tweets, the Met Police has now found a rather expensive way to say sorry. The force has paid the Father Ted co-creator £25,000 in compensation.
Linehan was disgracefully detained by five armed officers at Heathrow Airport in September last year. Fresh off a ten-hour flight from Arizona, the writer was told he was being arrested on suspicion of inciting violence over social media posts critical of trans activism. He was bundled into a police van, taken to a nearby station and held for an eye-watering 12 hours.
In a letter to Linehan seen by The Telegraph, a senior officer admitted to ‘shortcomings in the investigation, the arrest and the imposition of bail conditions’. The letter added:
We apologise to you for those shortcomings and for the distress and inconvenience which he suffered as a result.
From his home in the US, Mr Linehan said the cash was useful to receive as ‘I have been on my uppers over the past few years for fighting against this madness.’ For all the damage done, the payout is at least an admission that Linehan should never have been put through such a farce. Still, Mr S hopes the Met has learnt its lesson: when it comes to free speech, this was one arrest that simply didn’t add up.
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