Britain’s Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called for a review of online speech laws in the wake of the arrest of Irish comedian Graham Linehan.
Mr Streeting said that Ministers need to “look at” such laws, which he said had put “more expectation on police,” telling the BBC that it is “very easy for people to criticise police” who are merely enforcing the laws that have been passed by MPs. He added that Ministers wanted police officers to focus on street crime as opposed to social media posts.
It comes as Linehan, 57, who was arrested by five armed police officers as he got off a flight on Monday at Heathrow, revealed that he intends to sue the Met for wrongful arrest and breach of his human rights.
“This was a horrible glimpse of the dystopian clown show that Britain has become. The FSU will support me by providing lawyers to advise on a claim against the Met Police for wrongful arrest and wrongful imprisonment in the hope that no one else is treated like a terrorist for speaking their mind on social media,” the writer said, claiming that he had been treated like a “terrorist” upon his arrival in Britain after a ten-hour flight from Arizona.
The posts of Linehan’s which led to the arrest included one in which he 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.”
A second post was a photograph from a trans-rights protest, of which Linehan commented “a photo you can smell,” with a follow-up post which read: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.”
Streeting told Times Radio: “I think the prime minister and the home secretary have been very clear that with the law and order challenges we’ve got in our country we want to see people being kept safe by policing streets, not just policing tweets.
“One thing I would say, because it’s always easy for people to criticise the police, the police enforce the laws of the land that we as legislators provide. So if we’re not getting the balance right then that’s something that we all have to look at and consider.
“Given policing challenges, given the home secretary’s personal determination to improve safety on our streets, she of course is looking at whether the things that we parliament over the years have asked police to do are the right things to do.
“Because honestly it’s very easy for us all to criticise the police but the police are there to enforce laws that parliament has passed. If the police are enforcing things that we think are a waste of time or a distraction from more important things, that’s on us to sort out.”
His comments follow Sir Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Met Police, admitting that officers should not be “policing toxic culture war debates” after the arrest of Linehan over three gender-critical tweets.
Rowley said in a statement: “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 offence, 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.
“Most reasonable people would agree that genuine threats of physical violence against an identified person or group should be acted upon by officers. Such actions can and do have serious and violent real-world implications.”
The Irish writer was pictured arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court in London to face trial after he was accused of harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks. He wore a placard which read: “There’s no such thing as a ‘Transgender Child’” and “Keep Men out of Women’s Sports.”
Linehan has received widespread support, including from JK Rowling and Elon Musk, who have both branded Britain a “police state” whilst hitting out at the writer’s treatment as “utterly deplorable” and “totalitarian.”
IRISH GOVT SHOULD REACH OUT, SAYS TD
Irish politician Carol Nolan has called on the Irish government and the Minister for justice to “reach out” to counterparts in Britain to express concern over the treatment of Linehan.
She said the arrest “offered a chilling insight into the UK’s free speech authoritarianism.”
“We have witnessed a creeping authoritarianism for years now, but this is free speech tyranny at full gallop,” the Independent TD said. “Is the Irish government really going to stand back while one of the most talented creators we have produced, and an Irish citizen, is subjected to this kind of terrible assault on his right to free speech? If it does, then it will clearly have demonstrated a level of moral and political cowardice that is truly reprehensible,” Nolan said.
“I am calling on the Irish government and the Minister for Justice in particular to reach out to his UK counterpart to express our collective outrage at the treatment Graham Linehan is being subjected to.”
“Is this the future that awaits us here? Will we one day see Irish artists like Graham arrested at Dublin airport or Shannon? This is no longer fanciful or over-wrought speculation. It is a scenario that is becoming more likely by the day.”