London’s Metropolitan Police announced Monday that officers will no longer investigate so-called “non-crime hate incidents,” saying the force needs to focus on real crimes rather than getting
involved in what it called “toxic culture war debates.”
The move comes soon after Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, best known for co-creating the sitcom Father Ted, revealed he would face no further action following his controversial arrest earlier this year over social media posts about transgender issues.
Linehan, 57, said on X (formerly Twitter) that police had informed his lawyers the case was being dropped. He had been arrested at Heathrow Airport in September on suspicion of inciting violence — an event that drew widespread criticism and was held up by free speech advocates as an example of overreach by authorities.
In Britain, non-crime hate incidents refer to situations where someone’s words or actions are perceived as being motivated by hostility or prejudice toward a protected group, but no actual crime has been committed. Critics have long argued that recording such incidents stifles free speech.
“The Commissioner has been clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates,” the Met said in a statement, echoing remarks made in September by the UK’s most senior police officer, Mark Rowley, who had previously faced backlash over Linehan’s arrest.
The issue has also become a political flashpoint for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government. Starmer has defended laws aimed at holding social media platforms accountable, while insisting that free speech “must be fiercely protected” — though he’s acknowledged there are limits when speech crosses into harm or incitement.
Linehan’s arrest was cited internationally, including by Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, during testimony to the U.S. Congress about threats to free expression. Even Elon Musk, the owner of X, criticized the UK’s approach, accusing the government of suppressing dissent.
The Met’s decision signals a shift toward prioritizing tangible criminal cases and away from what many see as symbolic policing of speech — a change likely to reignite the ongoing debate about how Britain balances free expression with protection from hate. Photo by Matt Brown, Wikimedia commons.