Nigel Farage is expected to rip into Sir Keir Starmer’s record on protecting free speech in Britain in the wake of the controversial arrest of a well-respected comedy writer by police over posts he made on X. Taking to the platform himself last night, the Reform UK leader shared the story of the Met Police detaining comedian Graham Linehan, who is known for his gender-critical views on trans issues.

Mr Linehan said he was detained by five armed officers as he stepped off a flight from the US and taken into a cell to be questioned, over messages published in April. The Father Ted writer said that after being questioned by police, his blood pressure had reached “stroke territory” and he was taken to hospital and kept under observation, before being released on bail.

Mr Farage, who is due to speak in Washington today (Wednesday) said on X: “Free speech is under assault in Britain. I will raise this incident on Capitol Hill tomorrow.”

Other opposition politicians, including the Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, have criticised the arrest of Linehan, and Mr Farage is expected to cite the incident as an example of how Britain has become an “authoritarian censorship regime” under Labour. He will give evidence to the House Judiciary Committee in Washington on free speech in the UK, during a hearing on Wednesday.

In a written statement prepared ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Mr Farage said: “Somewhere on this planet of ours, innovators must remain free to build the next generation of platforms without being hamstrung by illiberal and authoritarian censorship regimes that are alien to both American and traditionally British values.

“Right now, that place is America. Those of us in the UK will do what we can to make Britain such a place as well.”

He told The Sun he would discuss both Linehan, whose case he described as an example of “the war on freedom in the UK”, and Lucy Connolly. Connolly was freed from jail last month at the automatic release point after serving 40% of a 31-month sentence, for stirring up racial hatred against asylum seekers in the aftermath of the Southport murders last year.

The former childminder and wife of a Conservative councillor had said in a post on X: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the bastards for all I care … if that makes me racist so be it.”

The Reform UK leader said her prosecution showed “the UK’s readiness to criminalise merely unpleasant, challenging, or incendiary online speech.”

Irish writer Mr Linehan said he was detained by five armed officers and taken into a cell to be questioned, over messages published on X in April. One 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.”

Another was a photograph of a trans rights protest, with the comment “a photo you can smell”, with a follow-up post saying: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.”

Downing Street declined to comment directly on the arrest, saying it was “an operational matter for the police”, but added the Prime Minister and Home Secretary had made their priorities for policing “clear”.

Scotland Yard did not identify Linehan, but a spokeswoman said officers had arrested a man on Monday on suspicion of inciting violence and that the arrest was “in relation to posts on X”.

She added that it was “routine” for officers policing airports to be armed, and that their firearms “were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest”.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick described the incident as “a complete waste of police time”, adding: “We desperately need to end this nonsense and go after actual criminals.”

His fellow shadow cabinet minister Claire Coutinho said: “Britain used to be known for its sense of humour. Now the police are arresting people for making jokes.

“You live in a society? Occasionally you’re going to be offended. That’s how it works.”

Labour backbencher Jonathan Hinder said the arrest showed the need for a “serious reset to get the priorities right” in policing.

Author and campaigner JK Rowling tweeted: “What the f*** has the UK become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable.”.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the Government’s priorities for crime and policing were “tackling anti-social behaviour, shoplifting, street crime” and “reducing serious violent crimes like knife crime and violence against women.”

He rejected Ms Rowling’s claim that the UK was engaging in “totalitarianism”

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “On Monday September 1 at 1pm, officers arrested a man at Heathrow Airport after he arrived on an inbound American Airlines flight.

“The man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence. This is in relation to posts on X.

“After being taken to police custody, officers became concerned for his health and he was taken to hospital. His condition is neither life-threatening nor life-changing.

“He has now been bailed pending further investigation. The arrest was made by officers from the MPS Aviation Unit.

“It is routine for officers policing airports to carry firearms. These were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest.”