Graham Linehan cleared of transphobic harassment charges against activist Sophia Brooks

Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been cleared of transphobic harassment charges against activist Sophia Brooks but found guilty of criminal damage after smashing her mobile phone during a heated confrontation outside a London conference.

The 57-year-old comedy writer appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, where District Judge Briony Clarke delivered her verdict following a three-day trial. Linehan had faced allegations of harassing Brooks on social media between 11 and 27 October 2024, as well as damaging her phone during an incident on 19 October outside the Battle of Ideas conference in Westminster.

Judge Clarke ruled that while Linehan’s online comments were “deeply unpleasant, insulting and even unnecessary”, they did not meet the legal threshold for harassment. “His posts were annoying but not oppressive,” she said, adding that Brooks’ evidence was “not entirely truthful” unless corroborated by audio or video material.

However, the court found Linehan guilty of criminal damage after CCTV footage showed him angrily knocking Brooks’ phone to the ground, causing £369 worth of damage. The judge concluded that Linehan acted because he was “angry and fed up”, rejecting his claim that he seized the device to prevent a crime.

Linehan, who flew in from Arizona for the hearing, told the court that his “life was made hell” by trans activists and described Brooks as “a young soldier in the trans activist army”. He was ordered to pay £650 in court costs and a £200 surcharge.

Trans rights campaigners expressed disappointment that the harassment charge did not stick, arguing that the ruling “sets a worrying precedent” for online abuse cases. They emphasised that repeated misgendering and derogatory language should be recognised as harmful conduct, even if not legally “oppressive”.