'I confronted a Muslim' tweet suspect says he will sue Metropolitan Police after race-hate charges are dropped
Matthew Doyle no longer faces the charge after the Met Police was told it did not have the power to make the decision without consulting the Attorney-General or the CPS
Matthew P Doyle
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/12205303/I-confronted-a-Muslim-tweet-suspect-says-he-will-sue-Metropolitan-Police-after-race-hate-charges-are-dropped.htmlBy Laura Hughes, Political Correspondent
2:04PM BST 27 Mar 2016
A man who tweeted about stopping a Muslim 'women' (sic) in the street and challenging her to "explain Brussels", has said he will sue the Metropolitan Police after charges of race-hate against him were dropped.
Matthew Doyle, 46, from South Croydon, no longer faces the charge after the Met Police was told it had jumped the gun and did not have the power to make the decision without consulting the Attorney-General or the CPS.
Mr Doyle was due to appear at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court on Saturday, but on Friday night the Met police said the charge had been dropped.
Senior police officers will be asked to leave their desks and go on regular street patrols following the launch of a single national police force. Police officers Photo: Alamy
He has now told The Mail on Sunday he now plans on taking legal action.
"I cannot understand why I was detained, my flat trashed, my passport seized and two PCs, two tablets and my phone taken," he said.
Mr Doyle, a partner at a south London-based talent and PR agency, allegedly posted a tweet on Wednesday morning saying: "I confronted a Muslim woman in Croydon yesterday. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said 'nothing to do with me'. A mealy mouthed reply."
The tweet, which appeared to refer to referred to this week's bomb attacks on the Belgian capital's main airport and Metro system, received hundreds of angry responses.
"I was denied a shave, shower, food. I was stripped of any dignity to appear in court without looking like a dishevelled hobo that I am not," he said.
He also accused ‘"nameless Twitter trolls" of "fanning the flames" and accused the Met of being "foolish" for bowing to social media rows.
He said: "It is not only foolish of them but I will be making a complaint against them and damages for trashing my flat, taking all my electronic stuff from my flat and forcing me to leave London."
Mr Doyle told the Telegraph he had no idea his tweet would be the "hand grenade" it has proven to be - and that Twitter's 140 character limit made the encounter sound vastly different to how he thought it went.
Scotland Yard confirmed: "Matthew Doyle, 46, of South Croydon was charged by police on Friday, 25 March, with an offence under Section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986.
"Following discussion with the Crown Prosecution Service, Mr Doyle is no longer charged with the offence and will not be appearing at court.
"Police may not make charging decisions on offences under Section 19 of the Public Order Act."
The Attorney-General’s office added: "The police didn’t consult us before charging him and there has been no request for the AG’s consent."
