The Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been cleared of harassing a transgender activist on social media but found guilty of criminal damage of their mobile phone outside a conference in London last year.

The 57-year-old flew from Arizona to appear at Westminster magistrates court in person on Tuesday, where the judgment was delivered.

Linehan denied harassing Sophia Brooks on social media between 11 and 27 October 2024, and a charge of criminal damage of their mobile phone on 19 October last year outside the Battle of Ideas conference in Westminster.

Judge Clarke fined Linehan £500 and ordered him to pay costs of £650 and a statutory surcharge of £200. Linehan’s lawyer, Sarah Vine KC, asked that he be given 28 days to pay the full amount.

The trial heard that Brooks had begun t

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