Linehan cleared of harassing trans activist but guilty of damaging phone

Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been cleared of harassing a teenage trans activist on social media but convicted of damaging the campaigner's phone.

Linehan "deliberately whacked" Sophia Brooks' phone and threw it in the road outside a conference last October, his trial was told.

Westminster Magistrates' Court also heard that the Irish comedy writer "relentlessly" posted abusive comments on social media.

On Tuesday, the judge said Linehan's social media posts did not amount to harassment but found him guilty of criminal damage in relation to the phone. He denied both charges.

Linehan was accused of harassment after calling Brooks, who was 17 at the time, a "sociopath", "psycho", "domestic terrorist" and "groomer" on X.

District Judge Briony Clarke said that while the posts were "unattractive, annoying and irritating", as well as "deeply unpleasant and even unnecessary", they were not "oppressive or unacceptable" and therefore did not meet the criminal standard for harassment.

The pair met in person in October 2024 when Brooks, who was born a biological male but identifies as a woman, confronted Linehan and filmed him outside the Battle of Ideas conference in London.

The judge found that Linehan "took the phone and threw it because he was angry and fed up not because he was using reasonable force to prevent crime", and that he damaged it in the process.

The judge said she did not think "the complainant was as 'alarmed and distressed' as they portrayed themself to be by these messages and this course of conduct".

She also ruled that "the complainant was not giving entirely truthful evidence" during the trial in September, while Linehan was "generally a credible witness".

He has been fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £650 and a statutory surcharge of £200.

During the trial, Linehan told the court that knocking the phone was a "reflex response", and that his life had been "made hell" by transgender activists because of his views about gender identity.

Speaking outside court on Tuesday, he said there was "a group of dangerous men who are determined to bully women and girls, and to misuse the courts and police in furtherance of a misogynistic agenda".

He added: "I'm proud to have stood up to them and I will continue to do so."

Judge Clarke added that it was "not for the court to pick a side" on the "continuing debate about rights of individuals regarding their sex and gender identity".

She explained that the prosecution used female pronouns to refer to the complainant during the trial, while Linehan's defence used male pronouns. The judge said she had chosen to refer to Brooks using "gender neutral pronouns and as 'the complainant'" in her ruling.

This case was not connected to separate allegations that led to Linehan's much-publicised arrest at Heathrow Airport in September.

He was met by armed officers and held on suspicion of inciting violence in posts on X, sparking a backlash from some public figures and politicians, and inflaming a fierce debate about policing and free speech.

In October, the Metropolitan Police dropped its investigation after the Crown Prosecution Service decided no further action should be taken.