Overview

• Metropolitan Police detained a man in his fifties at Heathrow on 1 September in connection with social‑media posts and later released him on bail pending further inquiries.
• Reporting identifies the man as writer Graham Linehan, who was taken to hospital during processing; police described his condition as not life‑threatening, and he says his bail bars posting on X.
• Officers are investigating alleged incitement to violence tied to April posts that included a call to "punch him in the balls" if a trans‑identified man entered a women‑only space.
• Conservative figures including Kemi Badenoch, Chris Philp and J. K. Rowling condemned the arrest as disproportionate, while Downing Street called it an operational matter and ministers signaled possible review of relevant laws.
• Separately, a London court began hearing a case alleging harassment and criminal damage involving a transgender activist, which Linehan denies, following earlier reports that he was due in court this week.