Nigel Farage compared the United Kingdom to North Korea when discussing free speech and the arrest of Graham Linehan at a US Congress hearing on Wednesday.
The leader of Reform UK was speaking at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on how the UK’s Online Safety Act and the EU’s Digital Services Act might affect Americans’ free speech online.
At the same hearing, Irish barrister Lorcan Price told Congress it should “put pressure” on the Irish Government “to stop the bullying of tech companies”.
In his opening statement, Farage said the UK had sunk into an “awful authoritarian situation”, citing the cases of Linehan and Lucy Connolly, the wife of a Conservative councillor who was jailed last year after calling for hotels accommodating asylum seekers to be set on fire.
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Connolly (42) was released from prison in August after serving less than half of her 31-month sentence.
Linehan (57) was arrested on Monday at Heathrow Airport over three posts he had made on X about trans issues.
Neither Connolly nor Linehan were arrested under the Online Safety Act, instead the Public Order Act.
Of Linehan’s arrest, Farage said: “At what point did we become North Korea? Well, I think the Irish comedy writer found that out two days ago at Heathrow Airport.”
The Father Ted writer has said he was stopped by five armed officers at Heathrow Airport over three posts and taken into a cell to be questioned over messages he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
One of the posts said: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”
Mr Price acts as legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom International, a US Christian organisation that takes conservative positions on civil rights issues in several countries.
The barrister, who is based in Strasbourg, outlined his concerns about the legislation. He told the committee, “a lot of regulation is actually happening in my own country, in Ireland”.
Mr Price said Coimisiún na Meán, the Irish media commissioner, is “ground zero for a lot of this regulation”. He also noted that many tech companies have their European headquarters in Dublin.
Mr Price said the US “can do a lot” about the regulation because of the “strong bilateral relationships between Ireland and the United States”.
He called on the US “to put pressure on the Irish government to stop the bullying of tech companies”.
“X is in the Irish Supreme Court soon against the Irish media Commissioner, so they’re already starting to crack down. So I would hope that you use your good offices here to put pressure on the Irish,” said Mr Price.
The Irish Times has contacted Coimisiún na Meán for comment.
Earlier on Wednesday, the head of the British police force that arrested Linehan said his officers are in “an impossible position” when dealing with statements made online.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Mark Rowley said his officers should not be “policing toxic culture wars debates”.
He said he has made suggestions to the British government about how laws governing social media posts could be changed, and is ready to test new approaches “within a matter of weeks”.
British prime minister Keir Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday that he believed the police should be able to focus on the most consequential issues.
“The commissioner has put out a statement in relation to the particular case this morning. I’ve been clear throughout that we must ensure the police focus on the most serious issues and the issues that matter most to our constituencies and all communities, and that includes tackling issues like antisocial behaviour, knife crime and violence,” he said.
Linehan, who also created the IT Crowd and Black Books, said he was intercepted by police officers after flying from Arizona to London.
Writing on Substack, he said he was taken to a cell and then questioned over the posts, published on X in April.
The writer said after questioning by police that his blood pressure “was over 200 – stroke territory” and he was taken to hospital and kept under observation before being discharged and released on bail.
Linehan is due to appear before Westminster magistrates on Thursday, accused of harassing a trans woman, Sophia Brooks, and damaging her phone, which he denies. – PA/Guardian
