Irish comedian says UK PM Starmer hides from culture wars as 'ordinary people' fight daily battles

Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan, who has drawn criticism for his comments on transgender issues, testified before Congress Wednesday, arguing that the U.K.’s free speech battles have left "ordinary people" fighting culture-war disputes without clear leadership.

Linehan previewed his message during an appearance earlier that day on "Fox & Friends," where he criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for avoiding the debate over transgender policies now playing out in courts, on the streets and online.

"We have a Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who ran on saying he was going to end the culture wars," Linehan said. "And all he's done is hide from them. So ordinary people are actually fighting the culture wars in the U.K. every day."

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Comedy writer and journalist Graham Linehan testifies on "Europe's Threat to American Speech and Innovation" at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 4, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The hearing highlighted how European censorship laws could impact free speech in the United States. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Linehan pointed to three cases involving nurses he said were harassed, labeled bigots and threatened professionally, blaming what he called "cowardly leadership" for failing to provide clear guidance.

"There was never any admission that they were wrong," he said, describing one dispute involving women who said they were asked to undress in front of a man.

Linehan also said he was unable to find work after voicing what he described as "basic feminism" rooted in the suffragette movement.

The comedy writer was briefly arrested over his criticism of U.K. transgender policies before police dropped the charges.

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Graham Linehan poses with a placard reading "There's no such thing as a transgender child" outside Westminster Magistrates Court on Sept. 4, 2025 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

He argued for single-sex spaces for women and claimed allowing "men who identify as women" into female-only areas amounts to "a charter for predators" on "Fox & Friends."

"Now, of course, that’s not to say that all trans-identified people are predators," he said. "But neither are all men predators. But we keep them all out of the women’s toilets for … reasons that have been established … 100 years ago."

Linehan said his life was "kind of destroyed by trans activists."

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"I had to kind of watch the next 10 years as colleague after colleague condemned me in the press for things they could never explain," he said.