Father Ted creator Linehan ‘whacked’ phone out of trans activist’s hand

Father Ted creator Graham Linehan “deliberately whacked” a phone out of a transgender activist’s hand and called them a “disgusting incel”, a court has heard.

The 57-year-old Irish comedy writer is on trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court accused of harassing trans woman Sophia Brooks.

District Judge Briony Clarke said the prosecution would address the complainant according to their “affirmed gender name”, while stating that the defendant’s position was that the “complainant is male”.

The judge added: “No party seeks to police the other’s use of language. Neither party wishes the use of language to disrupt proceedings.”

The court was told that Linehan and the activist met for the first time in person outside the Battle of Ideas conference in Westminster on October 19 last year.

The transgender activist told the court that Linehan had called her a “sissy porn-watching scumbag”, a “groomer” and a “disgusting incel”, with the complainant responding “you’re the incel, you’re divorced”.

While filming outside the venue, the activist approached Linehan and asked: “Why do you think it is acceptable to call teenagers domestic terrorists?”

A video played to the court appeared to show Linehan grabbing the complainant’s phone.

Discussing the incident, the activist said: “He grabbed my hand and forcibly ripped my phone out of it and then took my phone behind his back and refused to give it to me.

“I demanded he give me my phone back and after realising I wouldn’t relent, he said: ‘Go and get your f****** phone’ and threw it into the road.”

Prosecutor Julia Faure Walker said: “He deliberately whacked the phone out of Ms Brooks’ hand”, adding that it caused damage to the phone.

The complainant said they were told by Apple that it would cost £369 to repair the phone.

Linehan’s lawyer, Sarah Vine KC, told the activist: “You spent that afternoon harassing women and then harassing Mr Linehan and you used your phone for the purposes of that.

“Whatever damage there was to your phone, you cannot possibly be sure that was the result of what Mr Linehan did.”

Asked by Ms Vine what the best-case scenario would be in “confronting Mr Linehan about referring to you as a domestic terrorist”, the activist said: “He would apologise.”

Asked why they went into selfie mode while recording a video to speak to Linehan, the activist said: “Maybe to shame him a little bit, to put it in perspective that he is actually targeting a teenager.”

Ms Faure Walker said Linehan had posted about the activist “relentlessly”, and that his posts were “oppressive”.

The prosecutor added: “They were verbally abusive and vindictive, and reflected Mr Linehan’s deep disliking of Ms Brooks.”

On October 11 last year, a conference of the women’s rights group LGB Alliance was disrupted when some girls inside released insects, the prosecution said.

Ms Faure Walker said: “Despite there being no evidence that Ms Brooks participated, Linehan linked disruption of the event to her.”

During cross-examination, the activist said the LGB Alliance was a “hate group” that had “advocated for the eradication of trans rights”.

Linehan posted online a number of times about the complainant after the conference, the court heard.

In a post to the Metropolitan Police X account on October 12, Linehan said: “I believe these three men all had knowledge of the recent homophobic attack on a meeting of gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

“Will they take seriously this example of domestic terrorism, in which I believe some silly children were doing the bidding of some very dangerous men.”

On October 13, Linehan posted online that the activist was “behind countless episodes of harassment of women and gay men both online and off”, adding “he is a deeply disturbed sociopath and I believe he had some involvement in Friday’s homophobic attack”.

Giving evidence, the complainant told the court “I felt alarmed and distressed” at being called a “deeply disturbed sociopath” by Linehan.

The activist added: “I was being branded as a deeply disturbed sociopath by a relatively famous person with over 500,000 followers – any of which could see Mr Linehan’s post and cause great harm to me.”

The court heard that Linehan posted on social media about someone with the name “Tarquin”, which Ms Faure Walker said was the defendant’s “derogatory term” for the complainant.

Asked how the Tarquin name came to be used, the complainant told the court: “It is apparently to do with my poshness.”

In another post, the defendant said “watch how Buffalo Bill uses the camera to hide his face”.

The court heard that Linehan tried to get information about the activist, saying “we believe Tarquin is studying”, then referred to a particular course, and said: “If you know him and want to help to stop him harassing people, please get in touch.”

Linehan also said “he’s been 17 years old for a number of years” in another post, the court heard.

On October 24, Linehan wrote “he’s also a scumbag who harasses women”, the prosecution said.

They said Linehan also wrote: “If you encounter Tarquin in the wild, try to resist the urge to stick his cameras up his arse. He’s hoping to get you to do something he can report the police.”

Linehan was interviewed under caution on February 5 and provided a prepared statement.

Before going into court, the writer posed with a sandwich board-style sign which said on one side “There’s no such thing as a ‘transgender child’”, and on the other, “Keep men out of women’s sports”.

Linehan, wearing a white shirt, grey jacket and dark trousers, spoke to confirm his identity at the trial.

He has denied one count of harassing the activist on social media between October 11 and October 27 last year, and a further charge of criminal damage of their mobile phone on October 19 last year.

The trial continues.