Imagine stepping off a long-haul flight, tired and ready to get home, only to find five police officers waiting at passport control.
Not because of terrorism, fraud, or smuggling — but because of a few social media jokes.
It sounds like the sort of thing that happens in an authoritarian state, not in Britain.
Yet this is exactly what happened to comedian Graham Linehan.
A Voice Under Fire
I’ve known Graham for some time, just as I’ve built friendships with Rosie Duffield and JK Rowling.
What unites us is the fight for women’s and girls’ rights in the face of gender ideology.
From the start, Graham has been outspoken and brave, often taking the kind of abuse most people could never withstand. His arrest, however, takes things to another level.
Free Speech Under Threat
This incident should worry everyone who values freedom in Britain.
The idea that five police officers can be dispatched to silence a comedian for saying what millions already think is deeply alarming.
Free speech is not being eroded by accident — it is being deliberately weaponised. Petty squabbles are being turned into police matters, while genuine crimes go unchecked.
Policing Priorities Upside Down
We have to ask hard questions. Why are officers intercepting a comedian at the airport when child grooming gangs have been left alone for decades? Why are burglary victims told there aren’t enough resources, but five officers can suddenly appear to arrest a man for online opinions? This is not just bad policing; it is upside-down justice.
Labour and Reform’s Role
The truth is, Labour is happy to let this continue. They claim to defend freedom but vote against scrapping Non-Crime Hate Incidents.
They preside over the very culture of intolerance that made Linehan’s arrest possible.
And Reform? They are no better. When pressed on whether men belong in women’s prisons, Nigel Farage called it a “risk assessment” issue. In other words, they look the other way.
The Conservative Position
Only the Conservatives are prepared to put this right.
If the law allows police to waste resources on arresting comedians, then the law must be changed.
When we were in government, too much deference was given to police leadership, enabling them to indulge in identity politics instead of fighting crime. That must stop.
A Plan to Restore Order
We will update the Public Order Act to make it fit for today, ensuring no one can be arrested simply for speaking common truths.
We will abolish Non-Crime Hate Incidents once and for all.
We will hold police leaders accountable, making sure resources go into catching burglars, fraudsters, and grooming gangs — not comedians at passport control.
Freedom as a Birthright
Freedom is not a gift from the state; it is a birthright fought for by generations before us.
Britain should never be a country where offensive jokes get you arrested while grooming gangs operate under silence.
That corrodes trust and undermines democracy itself.
Choosing Sides
The real test of government is simple: will it stand with ordinary people who play by the rules, or will it indulge bullies, activists, and bureaucrats? Labour and Reform have chosen the latter.
Conservatives will choose the former — defending free speech, restoring trust in policing, and protecting the values Britain was built on.