Father Ted creator Graham Linehan says he is ready to leave Britain for good, claiming police are working hand in hand with transgender activists and that free speech is collapsing in the country. Instead, the Irish comedy writer says he hopes to settle in the United States to escape what he described as “nut-jobs.”
Linehan’s threat to relocate comes after he was arrested by armed police over tweets critical of transgender ideology. His arrest followed a separate case in which he appeared in court on Thursday, accused of harassing 18-year-old activist Sophia Brooks and damaging a phone after grabbing it during a confrontation at a conference last year. He denies all charges.
Speaking after court, Linehan said: “I’ve never felt better because I’ve exposed the way British police are working in tandem with trans activists. The police, after being called institutionally racist, have over-compensated, and now they’re literally working for a sort of Al Capone gang in fishnets. When are they going to start defending the women bringing complaints instead of these clearly bad faith actors? They just don’t. Them arresting me at the airport was the greatest mistake they could have made.”
The Metropolitan Police rejected his claims, saying they “completely refute any suggestion the Met is preferential in its treatment of complaints” and insisting they police “without fear or favour.”
Linehan, who won a BAFTA for his work on Father Ted, is considering moving to Arizona. His plans run counter to a growing number of celebrities who say they are fleeing the U.S. because of President Donald Trump. Among them is actress Robin Wright, who recently described America as a “shit show” and said it was “liberating” to move to the U.K., praising the country for its slower pace of life and “freedom of self.”
