The Metropolitan Police have apologised to Father Ted creator Graham Linehan after he was arrested at Heathrow Airport over anti-trans social media posts.The Irish comedy writer, 57, was met by armed officers when he touched down in September last year from Arizona and detained on suspicion of inciting violence.It followed trans activist and former police officer Lynsay Watson raising the alarm, with Mr Linehan questioned earlier that year over comments shared on X.The Met dropped its case against the prolific tweeter in October, announcing it would no longer investigate non-hate crime incidents but would continue to record them to assess 'community tensions'.The force has now issued an apology to Mr Linehan following the conclusion of a five-month internal investigation – admitting the detention was unacceptable, the Telegraph reports.Inspector Matt Hume, from the Met Police Directorate of Professional Standards, said: 'I accept that the service provided was not acceptable and recognise the distress and impact this matter has caused Mr Linehan.'I apologise to Mr Linehan for the shortcomings in this investigation. The Met Police remains committed to lawful, proportionate policing and to learning from failings when they arise.'The report found the arrest was lawful but aspects of the investigation were flawed – as officers focused on the anti-transgender nature of the posts at the expense of the alleged incitement to violence.Mr Hume added: 'I therefore accept that, at times, both the investigation and arrest phases lacked the diligence one would expect from the [Metropolitan Police].' Graham Linehan (above) posted this photo online taken in A&E after he was tested for high blood pressure following his arrest in September 2025 at Heathrow airport Linehan was arrested in relation to three tweets (above) which police deemed to warrant an arrest on suspicion of inciting violenceThe investigation was also said to be adversely affected by a lack of experience of the trainee detective in charge who was overworked and poorly supervised.None of the officers involved in Mr Linehan’s arrest will be sanctioned and Scotland Yard plans to change how it handles high-profile hate-crime allegations, according to the report. Mr Linehan, who also co-wrote and directed sitcoms such as Black Books, The IT Crowd and Count Arthur Strong, was detained in relation to three posts which police deemed to warrant an arrest on suspicion of inciting violence.The first, from April 20, read: '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.'Another, on April 19, was a picture of a trans rally with the caption: 'A photo you can smell.' The third was a follow-up to a tweet which read: 'I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.'Mr Linehan said he was stopped by five armed police officers, though it is understood they were from the Met's Aviation unit and therefore routinely carried firearms.The writer was heard audibly fuming in disbelief when he was apprehended at the west London airport.He said: 'I'm a f****** comedy writer, I wrote Father Ted. Are you a f****** idiot?... It's just disgraceful.'When told he was under arrest, Mr Linehan shouted: 'Holy s***, I don't f****** believe it, do you know what this country looks like to America?' before telling them 'I'm going to sue you into the ground'. The writer (above) separately appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court last year having been accused of harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks Mr Linehan was separately found guilty in November of causing £369 worth of damage to trans activist Sophia Brooks's iPhone at the Battle of Ideas conference in WestminsterAfter his arrest, the writer claimed he was escorted to A&E 'because the stress nearly killed me' – adding his blood pressure was recorded at over 200mm Hg by a nurse.He subsequently told the Times the Metropolitan Police's move to arrest him at Heathrow was the 'greatest mistake they could have made'.Following the detention, Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, wrote to Yvette Cooper, the then home secretary, saying police officers had been left 'between a rock and a hard place' due to a 'lack of clarity' around hate crime laws.Robert Jenrick, then the Conservatives' Shadow justice secretary, said of the arrest: 'This is ridiculous and a complete waste of police time.'The police only respond to 1 in 5 reported shoplifting offences, but deployed 5 armed officers to arrest a comedian over three tweets. We desperately need to end this nonsense and go after actual criminals.'Tesla and X CEO Musk described Britain as a 'police state', while JK Rowling fumed: 'What the f*** has the UK become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable.' Lord Young of Acton, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union (FSU), which backed Mr Linehan's legal challenge, has now responded to the Met's apology.He said: 'The FSU welcomes this apology and the acknowledgment that the arrest and detention of Graham Linehan was an unacceptable interference in his right to free speech.'We look forward to working with the Met Police and other police services to ensure their response to complaints about social media posts in future has due regard to freedom of expression.'Mr Linehan was separately found guilty in November of causing £369 worth of damage to trans activist Sophia Brooks's iPhone at the Battle of Ideas conference in Westminster on October 19, 2024.He was ordered to pay nearly £1,400 in fines and costs.The 57-year-old had posted on X calling Ms Brooks, 18, 'sociopathic' and a 'domestic terrorist' – but was previously cleared of harassing her by a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court.When the pair met at the event, Ms Brooks filmed Mr Linehan who responded by calling her a 'groomer' before grabbing her phone and throwing it onto the road.Mr Linehan, of Scottsdale, Arizona, referred to the teenager as a 'man' and a 'psycho posh kid' in a series of posts.When Ms Brooks confronted the writer he called her a 'disgusting incel' and a 'sissy porn-watching scumbag'.Julia Faure Walker, prosecuting, had said: 'Mr Linehan called Sophia Brooks a groomer, asking how many Ms Brooks had groomed. He also called Sophia Brooks an incel.'These insults, the prosecution suggests, illustrated Mr Linehan's attitude towards Sophia Brooks.'