Britain's most senior police chief on Wednesday defended the arrest of an Irish comedy writer over comments about transgender issues, saying officers were in an impossible position in arbitrating between free speech and criminal content.

Graham Linehan, co-creator of popular TV comedy shows and , said on Tuesday he had been detained by armed police at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence in relation to posts on X.

Explaining his officers' decision to arrest Linehan, London Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement they had reasonable grounds to believe he had committed a public order offence, but said he understood concerns.

Rowley said people would agree action was needed when the threat of violence was obvious, but in lesser cases police had been "left

See Full Page