The transgender lawyer who has accused Father Ted scribe Graham Linehan of transphobia and is suing him for harassment was once convicted of affray for threatening a man with a golf club, as well as for a number of other offences.

Stephanie Hayden, who is also suing Mumsnet and recently sued a transsexual solicitor, now identifies as a lawyer. But in 1999, when Hayden was a 28-year-old man known as Anthony Halliday, Halliday was charged with assault and affray. In court documents seen by RollOnFriday, the prosecutor in the Preston Crown Court case described how Halliday became embroiled in an argument after he refused to move his car from outside a man's house in Burnley. When the man said he would use a fork lift truck to remove the car, Halliday "became abusive", said the prosecution, and threw a punch after calling the victim a "big fat bastard".

The victim told police that the pair scuffled, and as he walked back to his house he felt a blow to the back of his head. He said he turned around to see Halliday wielding a golf club. After another scuffle in the street, the victim returned to his house, "bleeding from the head". His wife grabbed a video camera and recorded Halliday as he "picked up his golf club and brandished it, tapping on the glass of the victim's house". 

The charge of assault was left on Halliday's file after he pled guilty to the lessor offence of affray. He was sentenced to 150 hours community service, which he subsequently appealed on the basis of another case which he said was similar. It was dismissed as having "no merit" by the Court of Appeal in 2002. The judge noted that Halliday had appeared in court and been convicted in respect of several other crimes, which included disorderly behaviour and "a number of offences of dishonesty".

Hayden, who told RollOnFriday that the police were watching three of her properties as a result of Linehan's complaint, denied striking anyone with a golf club and emphasised that she was never convicted of striking anyone with a golf club. She said, "These events date back to 1999 and whilst the original sentence was indeed a 150 hours community punishment order, upheld on appeal in 2002, the sentence was subsequently varied by HHJ Badley (the original sentencing judge) in May 2004 to a 1 year Conditional Discharge following a referral back to that judge after successful proceedings in the Administrative Court involving the Probation Service. The conviction is long spent.”