Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan told police he knocked a phone out of a teenage transgender activist’s hand after being taunted about his divorce, 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.
Mr Linehan said knocking the phone out of the hand of Ms Brooks, the aged 17, was a “reflex response” to a “provocative statement” by someone who was filming him at the time.
He is accused of one count of harassing Ms Brooks on social media between October 11th and 27th last year and a further charge of criminal damage to a mobile phone on October 19th last. He denies the charges.
The court was told Mr Linehan and Ms Brooks met for the first time in person outside the Battle of Ideas conference in Westminster on October 19th.
A prepared statement from Mr Linehan, given during his police interview on February 5th last with acting Det Sgt Thomas Wells, was read to the court by the prosecution.
The statement, in which Mr Linehan referred to Ms Brooks as Tarquin, read: “I was first approached by Tarquin when I arrived at the venue and I was subject to a form of harassment with Tarquin approaching me and filming me at close quarters.
“This typically involved placing a phone immediately in front of someone’s face only a few inches away and filming them while trying to provoke a reaction. People often try to block the phone and Tarquin treats that as a game.
“He had no respect at all for people’s privacy or personal space. I had to try to ignore Tarquin as much as possible but was then confronted by Tarquin again at the end of the conference. Tarquin made a provocative statement about my current family position. I am now divorced and this is a very sensitive subject for me as he well knows.”
Mr Linehan added: “The taunting from Tarquin was completely unnecessary. In response I grabbed the phone and threw it to one side. I had had enough of the constant harassment from Tarquin and needed to stop him from taunting me any further. I did not intend to cause any damage and I do not know if it was damaged or not, it was a reflex response to provocative actions by Tarquin.
“I accept I have referred to Tarquin in posts, but as a journalist I believe exposing the tactics of vindictive and aggressive trans activists is in the public interest.”
Mr Linehan said in the statement he “simply wished the harassment” would stop.
Asked how the Tarquin name came to be used, Ms Brooks told the court on the first day of the trial: “It is apparently to do with my poshness.”
The court had heard from the prosecution that Mr Linehan had “relentlessly” posted abusive and vindictive material on social media about Ms Brooks, now aged 18.
Acting DS Wells told the court Mr Linehan had no previous convictions or cautions. He was arrested over separate matters when he landed at Heathrow airport on Monday – on suspicion of inciting violence over three social media posts about transgender people.
He was flying from Arizona to the UK to attend the Westminster magistrates court trial.
The case continues.- Guardian