(3 Sep 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++STARTS AND ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: New York – 24 November 2008
1. SOUNDBITE (English), Graham Linehan, British comedy writer:
"We’re on something here called the IFC, I believe, and I hadn’t heard of it before we started being shown on it. But we’ve got a really big response from that. I guess there’s more ways of seeing things. People can see things online and word spreads faster, word of mouth spreads pretty fast and all these things add up, I guess."
STORYLINE:
The arrest of comedy writer Graham Linehan in Britain over social media posts about transgender people has sparked a debate about freedom of speech and its limits.
Supporters of Linehan say U.K. laws are stifling legitimate comment and creating what “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling – like Linehan, a critic of trans activism — called “totalitarianism.”
Others argue that online abuse and hate speech have real-world impact and police have a duty to take it seriously. London’s police chief said ambiguities in the law had left officers “in an impossible position.”
Linehan, the co-creator of beloved 1990s sitcom “Father Ted” and other shows including “The IT Crowd,” says he was detained by five armed police officers on Monday at Heathrow Airport as he returned from Arizona.
Linehan, who has been outspoken in his assertions that trans women are men, said on X in April that trans women were violent criminals if they used women-only facilities. He advocated people “punch” them if calling police and other measures failed to stop them.
The post came days after the head of the U.K’s Equality and Human Rights Commission said transgender women would be excluded from women-only spaces such as toilets, single-sex hospital wards and sports teams.
The decision followed a ruling by Britain’s highest court that the terms “woman” and “man” refer to biological sex for antidiscrimination purposes.
Another post by Linehan referred to trans-rights protesters and said “I hate them.”
The Metropolitan Police force didn’t name Linehan but said it had arrested a man in his 50s at the airport on suspicion of inciting violence in posts on X.
Linehan, 57, said on Substack that he had been “arrested for jokes.” He said the questioning by police sent his blood pressure soaring and he was taken to a hospital before being released on bail, on condition he doesn’t post on X.
Linehan is due to appear in a London court on Thursday in a separate case in which he is accused of harassing a transgender woman and damaging her phone. He denies the charge.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0561efaec3bf4ddab5deb82591f4b0aa
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in September 8, 2025, 9:06 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
