No more investigations into 'non-crime hate incidents' after Linehan case, Met Police says

Metropolitan Police is to stop investigating "non-crime hate incidents" to "reduce ambiguity" after prosecutors dropped a case against Graham Linehan.

Linehan, 57, will face no further action after being arrested over his social media posts about transgender people.

The Father Ted and IT Crowd creator said his lawyers had been told the case wouldn't proceed. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed the move.

Linehan, 57, was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence when he landed at Heathrow from his home in the US on 1 September.

The incident drew criticism of the police and government from some politicians and free-speech campaigners.

Met Police said today it would stop investigating "non-crime hate incidents" to "reduce ambiguity" and "provide clearer direction for officers".

Posting on X, Linehan announced : "After a successful hearing to get my bail conditions lifted (one which the police officer in charge of the case didn't even bother to attend) the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case.

"With the aid of the Free Speech Union, I still aim to hold the police accountable for what is only the latest attempt to silence and suppress gender critical voices on behalf of dangerous and disturbed men."

The union said it had hired a "top flight team of lawyers to sue the Met for wrongful arrest, among other things".

"The police need to be taught a lesson that they cannot allow themselves to be continually manipulated by woke activists," it added.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson confirmed it had reviewed the case file and decided "no further action" would be taken.

In one of his posts, Linehan wrote: "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."

Another was a photo of a trans-rights protest, with the comment "a photo you can smell", and a follow-up post saying: "I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em".

A Met Police statement after the case was dropped acknowledged "concern" around Linehan's arrest.

It added: "The commissioner has been clear he doesn't believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates, with current laws and rules on inciting violence online leaving them in an impossible position.

"As a result, the Met will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents.

"We believe this will provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations."

Linehan said on his blog that he was arrested by five armed officers and had to go to A&E after his blood pressure reached "stroke territory" during his interrogation.

Police said the officers' guns were never drawn and were only present as Linehan was detained by the aviation unit, which routinely carries firearms.

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JK Rowling, who's regularly shared her views on women's rights in relation to transgender rights, was among those who had criticised the arrest, calling it "utterly deplorable".

Reform's Nigel Farage, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, and ex-foreign secretary Sir James Cleverly also hit out at the treatment of Linehan.

(c) Sky News 2025: No more investigations into 'non-crime hate incidents' after Linehan case, Met Police says