Particle.news
Download on the App Store
17 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Appeal Court Overturns Graham Linehan’s Criminal Damage Conviction

Judges ruled the evidence did not prove he damaged the teen activist’s phone.

Image
Graham Linehan arrives at Southwark Crown Court, London, to appeal his conviction for criminal damage. Linehan is appealing against his conviction for damaging a mobile phone in a confrontation with a trans activist. Picture date: Thursday April 30, 2026. (Photo by Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)
Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, who has been charged with harassment and criminal damage involving a transgender activist, reacts outside Westminster Magistrates' Court, in London, Britain, September 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jack Taylor

Overview

  • Graham Linehan’s conviction was quashed on Friday by a Southwark Crown Court panel led by Mrs Justice Amanda Tipples.
  • The judges said they could not be sure he caused damage to Sophia Brooks’s phone during a confrontation outside the Battle of Ideas conference in October 2024.
  • Over two days the court reviewed video clips and testimony, including Brooks’s account that she filmed him to seek an apology for being called a “domestic terrorist.”
  • Prosecutors highlighted a post in which Linehan wrote he was “quite proud” of grabbing the phone, arguing it showed his attitude during the encounter.
  • The appeal followed a November magistrates’ ruling that cleared him of harassment but fined him £500 for damage, as his lawyers framed the case as part of a campaign against a high‑profile gender‑critical figure.