Emma SaundersCulture reporter
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The Metropolitan Police says it will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents to allow officers to “focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations”.
The announcement came as the Met confirmed it was dropping a probe into Father Ted creator Graham Linehan after he was arrested at Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence in posts on X.
Mr Linehan was arrested by five officers on 1 September after arriving on a flight from the US, sparking a backlash from some public figures and politicians.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had decided no further action should be taken in the writer’s case following a “careful review” of the evidence supplied by police.
In a statement on Monday addressing non-crime hate incidents, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said it “understands the concern” around the case.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
The policy change would “provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations,” the spokesperson added.
Non-crime hate incidents are alleged acts perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards people with certain characteristics, such as race or transgender identity.
They are recorded to collect data on “hate incidents that could escalate into more serious harm” but do not amount to a criminal offence, according to Home Office guidance.
Police guidance on the recording of NCHIs was first published in 2005, following recommendations by an inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
Mr Linehan was arrested at Heathrow under the Public Order Act.
In an email to Mr Linehan’s lawyers, a Metropolitan Police detective said: “I am writing to inform you that following a review of the evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service, it has been determined that no further action will be taken in this matter.
“This decision means that no charges will be brought against Graham Linehan in relation to this allegation.
“Please note that this decision may be reconsidered if further evidence or information comes to light.”
Mr Linehan and the Free Speech Union (FSU), an advocacy group, vowed to sue the Metropolitan Police for wrongful arrest and interference with his free speech rights.
The writer added that Westminster Magistrates’ Court had earlier ordered that all of his bail conditions be dropped after an application by FSU lawyers. District Judge Snow ruled that the conditions were too vague and ordered that they were immediately lifted.
The arrest
In an online Substack article published in September, Mr Linehan said that, following his arrest at the airport, officials became concerned for his health after taking his blood pressure. He said he was then taken to hospital.
The Metropolitan Police said that a man in his 50s was arrested on 1 September at Heathrow Airport and taken to hospital, adding his condition “is neither life-threatening nor life-changing” , and he was bailed “pending further investigation”.
Linehan said in the Substack post that his arrest related to three posts on X from April, on his views about challenging “a trans-identified male” in “a female-only space”.
He shared screen shots of the posts he said he was arrested for on Substack, the subscription-based online platform.
The first post, from his X feed, said: “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.”
He then wrote on Substack that during his police interview following the arrest, “I explained that the ‘punch’ tweet was a serious point made with a joke”, and that it was about “the height difference between men and women… and certainly not a call to violence”.
His second post from X appeared to be an aerial shot of a group of protesters in a town centre, and he called it “a photo you can smell”.
The third expressed his views, in which he said “I hate them”, referring to “misogynists and homophobes”, adding an expletive.
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On 3 September the head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, defended the officers involved in the Heathrow arrests, but said he recognised “concern caused by such incidents given differing perspectives on the balance between free speech and the risks of inciting violence in the real world”.
He called on the government to “change or clarify” the law following Linehan’s arrest, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said police must “focus on the most serious issues”, when asked about the arrest.
At the time, Green Party leader Zack Polanski called the posts “totally unacceptable”, saying the arrest seemed “proportionate”, while Shami Chakrabarti, a Labour peer and ex-director of Liberty, a civil liberties group, said “the public order statute book and speech offences in particular do need an overarching review”.
“But inciting violence must always be a criminal offence,” she added.
Mr Linehan has pleaded not guilty to charges of harassment and criminal damage in a separate case, which has been adjourned until 29 October, with the comedian released on bail.
