You may have already heard about what happened to Graham Linehan on Monday. After getting off a nine-hour transatlantic flight, he was met at Heathrow by five armed police officers, arrested, interrogated and held in a cell for 16 hours. He was only released when his blood pressure became so high that he had to be rushed to A&E at 4 am.
What had he done wrong? Threatened to blow up the plane? Plotted to steal the Crown Jewels? Been found with indecent images of children? No.
His alleged crime related to three tweets he posted about trans rights activists. That's it. The police haven't yet charged him -- he’s under 'investigation' -- and in the meantime, he’s been released on bail on condition he stays off X.
Graham told the Free Speech Union: “This was a horrible glimpse of the dystopian clown show that Britain has become. But one thing helped me get through it, which is knowing I have the Free Speech Union in my corner. They hired a crack lawyer to look after me – he's trying to get the gagging order lifted – and if this ever goes to trial, they'll get a top barrister to defend me. The FSU will also 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 Free Speech Union has launched a fundraiser to pay Graham’s legal costs, and please do donate if you can.
Graham Linehan's arrest is a shameful sideshow to the epidemic of real violence against women - Toby Young
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With your help, we'll raise enough money to pay for his expenses in this case, as well as any outstanding expenses in another case being brought against him at the behest of a trans rights activist.
And if there's anything left over, it will be spent on defending other people who find themselves in a police cell for exercising their right to free speech and pushing back against state interference with free speech more widely.
We have to fight this all-out assault on freedom of expression. The police shouldn't be wasting their time arresting people for hurty words when there are actual crimes they could be investigating, such as the epidemic of violence against women and girls. They should be policing our streets, not our tweets.
Lord Young of Acton is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union.