A police chief has called for a change in the law in the UK after comedy writer Graham Linehan was arrested by cops over his supposedly “anti-trans” social media posts.

The law on “inciting violence” on social media must be “changed or clarified,” the head of the UK’s biggest police force said, following the arrest of Linehan, 57, at London Heathrow Airport on Monday.

“I don’t believe we should be policing toxic culture wars debates and officers are currently in an impossible position,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said in a statement on Wednesday, defending his officers’ actions

Officers “had reasonable grounds to believe an offence had been committed,” Rowley said, while admitting that police in the United Kingdom had “been left between a rock and a hard place” with regards to investigating so-called online hate speech.

Linehan was told he was arrested over three posts he made on X back in April, including one reading, “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,” according to a blog post he wrote on Monday.

The decision to arrest Linehan “was made within existing legislation – which dictates that a threat to punch someone from a protected group could be an offence,” Rowley said.

Police will be forced to “make similar decisions in future unless the law and guidance is changed or clarified,” Rowley warned, as he added that officers would be taking a softer line on these types of cases moving forward.

“As an immediate way of protecting our officers from the situation we find ourselves in today, we will be putting in place a more stringent triaging process to make sure only the most serious cases are taken forward in future – where there is a clear risk of harm or disorder,” he said.

Linehan’s arrest has sparked a huge debate over free speech in the UK, with politicians from both of the main parties condemning his detention.

“Sending five officers to arrest a man for a tweet isn’t policing, it’s politics,” Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, said in a statement.

Linehan, an award-winning comedian who created successful sitcoms including “The IT Crowd”, “Father Ted”, and “Black Books”, said he was detained by five armed officers who were waiting for him when he got off a flight from Arizona to London.

He was taken into custody for questioning before being rushed to the hospital after his blood pressure soared to over 200, he said.

Linehan, who has become better known in recent years for his strident anti-trans views, was released from custody and has not been charged with any offence, police said.

The comedian also faces a charge of harassment related to a separate incident involving a trans activist, and is due to appear in court on Thursday.

He previously admitted that his obsession with trans people had destroyed both his marriage and his career.