Man who 'confronted Muslim woman' over Brussels criticises 'foolish' police after arrest

In his criticism of the police Matthew Doyle said: 'In reality, the Met added ammunition to whatever I said'

Matthew Doyle was arrested following his tweet about the confrontation of the Muslim woman (Twitter/Matthew Doyle)

The man who was charged by police after posting on Twitter about confronting a Muslim woman over the Brussels attacks jplans to launch a formal complaint against the Metropolitan Police.

Matthew Doyle posted a message on Twitter on Wednesday which read: “I confronted a Muslim woman yesterday in Croydon. I asked her to explain Brussels.

"She said 'Nothing to do with me'. A mealy mouthed reply."

Scotland Yard said on Friday the 46-year-old was no longer charged with the offence and would not be appearing in court.

Guidance about racist and religious crime on the Crown Prosecution Service website states a charge under the the Public Order Act can only be made with the consent of the attorney general, and adds that a referral must be made to the counter-terrorism division.

Criticising the Metropolitan Police, Mr Doyle told the Guardian: "In reality, the Met added ammunition to whatever I said.

"Concurrently, their press office should be cautioned about issuing largely self-congratulatory statements and then being forced to backtrack.”

“They smelt blood, but got egg on both their face and reputation.”

When asked if he regretted his tweets, he added: “I said how I felt at that moment in time. If anyone fanned the flames, it was the nameless Twitter trolls who smelt a lynching on their hands.

“For the Met to bow to social media rows, it is not only foolish of them but I will be making a complaint against them and [claiming for] damages for trashing my flat, taking all my electronic stuff from my flat and forcing me to leave London.”