The chief of police in London defended the officers who arrested British comedian Graham Linehan for posts on social media relating to transgender people, but called on the government to adjust the enforcement of speech laws so authorities are no longer “policing toxic culture wars debates.”
Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, offered his perspective on Wednesday regarding the Irish comedian’s high-profile arrest, which has drawn criticism from both sides of the political spectrum in the United Kingdom.
Recommended Stories
- With Putin in China, Russia launches over 500 drones in attack on Ukraine
- Trump tells Xi to give Putin and Kim his regards at parade 'as you conspire' against US
- Coldplay Chris Martin faces backlash after calling Israeli fans 'equal humans'
“While the decision to investigate and ultimately arrest the man was made within existing legislation – which dictates that a threat to punch someone from a protected group could be an offense – I understand the concern caused by such incidents given differing perspectives on the balance between free speech and the risks of inciting violence in the real world,” Rowley said.
The London police chief called for lawmakers to pass legislation offering “greater clarity and common sense” on the enforcement of speech laws, saying that such a move would allow officers to “limit the resources we dedicate to tackling online statements to those cases creating real threats in the real world.”
Linehan was arrested on Tuesday after arriving at Heathrow Airport. He claims police informed him that he was being arrested over statements he made about transgender people on the social media platform X.
Among the posts Linehan claims the police flagged was a joke about women defending themselves in single-gender spaces: “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.”
Rowley, in his Wednesday statement, seemed to acknowledge that there was a distinct difference between genuine calls to harm others and jokes like those made by Linehan but said police’s hands are tied when a case that meets the legal criteria for arrest is made known to authorities.
“Most reasonable people would agree that genuine threats of physical violence against an identified person or group should be acted upon by officers,” Rowley said. “Such actions can and do have serious and violent real-world implications. But when it comes to lesser cases, where there is ambiguity in terms of intent and harm, policing has been left between a rock and a hard place by successive governments who have given officers no choice but to record such incidents as crimes when they’re reported. Then they are obliged to follow all lines of enquiry and take action as appropriate.”
“I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates, and officers are currently in an impossible position,” he added.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting touched on the idea of legislators taking action to help police prioritize genuine threats when he told BBC Radio 4’s Today that “we can’t have a go at the police for enforcing the laws that we haven’t got right as legislators.”
Streeting previously told Sky News that the government “would rather see our police on the streets rather than policing tweets.”
Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage called the Linehan arrest yet another example of the “war on freedom in the U.K.”
He said he would address the incident during his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington this week. Farage is one of three witnesses speaking to Congress as part of the hearing, titled “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation.”
Downing Street has withheld comment about the arrest, describing it as an “operational matter for the police.”
FARAGE AND STARMER FURIOUS AFTER COMEDY WRITER ARRESTED IN UK OVER TRANSGENDER CRITICISM
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, asked about the incident during Prime Minister’s Questions, said police need to “focus on the most serious issues.”
“That includes tackling issues like anti-social behavior, knife crime, and violence,” Starmer said. “We have a long history of free speech in this country. I’m very proud of that and I will always defend it.”