A man who sparked an outcry on Twitter after tweeting about confronting a Muslim woman on a street in Croydon, south London, and challenging her to “explain Brussels” has been arrested by police.
The Metropolitan police confirmed that a 46-year-old man had been arrested on Wednesday evening in Croydon on suspicion of inciting racial hatred via social media.
He is understood to be Matthew Doyle, a partner at a south London-based talent and PR agency, who tweeted earlier in the day: “I confronted a Muslim women [sic] yesterday in croydon. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said “Nothing to do with me” a mealy mouthed reply.”
The comments, which followed Tuesday’s bomb attacks at Brussels airport and on the city’s metro system, were later deleted but sparked a furious response from other users of Twitter.
Following criticism by other users of Twitter, Doyle tweeted:
Who cares if I insulted some towelhead ?? Really.
— Matthew P Doyle (@MatthewDoyle31) March 23, 2016
One of his last tweets on Wednesday evening was to say: “Thanks all you tweeters for proving I can still do PR.”
Officers for the Metropolitan police in Croydon tweeted on Wednesday that a suspect had been arrested for inciting racial hatred.
Suspect arrested for inciting racial hatred on twitter #ZDERTD #WeStandTogether #Croydon #Community @CroydonAd pic.twitter.com/BcjcKAPrFl
— Croydon MPS (@MPSCroydon) March 23, 2016
The force said that a man remained in custody at a south-London police station on Wednesday night.
Responses to Doyle’s tweet included one from another Twitter user who asked: “What has a Muslim woman in Croydon, got to do with the horrific events in Belgium, you simpleton?”
Another, referring to the far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, asked: “Did anyone accost you on the streets of Croydon after the Brevik shooting in Norway?”