Graham Linehan was warned by West Yorkshire Police following an argument with a transgender activist on Twitter. In a separate but related incident, he was visited by Northumbria Police for tweeting a video of another activist’s appearance on Sky News — something that was already in the public domain.
Read the news report: Graham Linehan given police warning after complaint by transgender activist
“The first time I was harassed by the police was when I was sued by an activist who was angry that I had revealed details of their past. This took the form of a phone call, during which the officer seemed surprised and relieved when I told him that I had long ago blocked the complainant on Twitter.” “The second time was when an associate of the same activist used similar tactics to harass me; this time I was visited at my home by local police. This incident very much upset my wife, so I used the normal complaints procedure and received no apology. This was despite the fact that the reason this person had called the police was because I had tweeted a televised interview that he had done on Sky News – something that was already in the public domain and had already been viewed by thousands of people before I tweeted it.” “The lack of clarity around this issue–with the police telling my solicitor I had not received a harassment warning while seemingly telling the complainant that I had– has allowed activists to continue to smear me in the press and online.” “The police are allowing themselves to be used by a small group of close associates who have a history of harassing women online. Essentially, they use the police as reputational bodyguards – and so far the police have been happy to oblige.”
“The first time I was harassed by the police was when I was sued by an activist who was angry that I had revealed details of their past. This took the form of a phone call, during which the officer seemed surprised and relieved when I told him that I had long ago blocked the complainant on Twitter.”
“The second time was when an associate of the same activist used similar tactics to harass me; this time I was visited at my home by local police. This incident very much upset my wife, so I used the normal complaints procedure and received no apology. This was despite the fact that the reason this person had called the police was because I had tweeted a televised interview that he had done on Sky News – something that was already in the public domain and had already been viewed by thousands of people before I tweeted it.”
“The lack of clarity around this issue–with the police telling my solicitor I had not received a harassment warning while seemingly telling the complainant that I had– has allowed activists to continue to smear me in the press and online.”
“The police are allowing themselves to be used by a small group of close associates who have a history of harassing women online. Essentially, they use the police as reputational bodyguards – and so far the police have been happy to oblige.”
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