Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has been reported to Norfolk police after sharing a post on Twitter that deadnames activist Stephanie Hayden. The television writer, who has been in a Twitter row with the activist for some time, claimed that Hayden shared his wife’s private details online.

After The Times published an article detailing their feud, Linehan tweeted that his favourite part of the article is where “Stephanie/Tony/Steven explains how it’s perfectly legal and normal to have multiple identities but if you don’t call him the female one you’re doing a hate crime”.  

Oh one thing on this. Tony/Steven/Stephanie is claiming I doxxed him and of course I did no such thing. Everything I retweeted was already available online. Tony/Steven/Stephanie retaliated by going after my wife. https://t.co/tJfCtyoz6m

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) September 29, 2018

Hayden took to Twitter to address the allegations:

“[Graham Linehan] alleged that I published his wife’s details online. This is denied in the strongest possible terms. Legal proceedings are to be issued.

“On 26.09.18 GL was reported to Norfolk Constabulary in connection with allegations that he had retweeted (and thus republished) a series of tweets from a third party, publishing photographs and personal information relating to my family, close friends and me.

“The report to Norfolk Constabulary about GL also alleges that GL has engaged in targeted harassment and transphobia. Police are investigating the allegations and I will make no further comment about them.”

Linehan, who has called Hayden a “dangerous troll”, has denied “doxxing” the activist in a pinned tweet that both misgenders and deadnames Hayden, claiming that everything he retweeted was already available online. The IT Crowd writer claimed Hayden “retaliated” by “going after” his wife.

Over the past few years, Graham Linehan has been called out for his problematic attitude towards transgender people, having tweeted opinions that align with trans exclusionary radical feminism (TERF). Linehan has referred to top surgery as “mutilation”, calling it “frightening, horrible, like something out of a David Cronenberg movie”. The writer added that “we shouldn’t be encouraging it, we should be trying to stop it.”