A man who tweeted that he'd confronted a Muslim woman in the street demanding an explanation for Tuesday's terror attack in Brussels has been arrested.
Mathew Doyle, a partner at a London talent and PR agency, posted a message on Wednesday morning saying: "I confronted a Muslim women [sic] in Croydon yesterday. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said 'nothing to do with me'. A mealy mouthed reply."
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After first trying to pass the Tweet off as nothing more than a publicity stunt, Doyle later admitted the incident had happened but said it had been misrepresented.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph today, he said he was not some "far-right merchant", insisting he had no idea the tweet would prove to be a "hand grenade" and that Twitter's 140 character limit made the encounter sound vastly different from how he thought.
He added: "I have a Muslim neighbour who got burgled and I was one of the first people to go around to help."
When asked by the Huffington Post why he had confronted the woman, Doyle explained that her an Islamic headscarf justified him approaching her.
He also sought to defend his comments on Twitter. While initially taking a conciliatory tone, in which he expressed some regret over the incident, he subsequently issued a series of inflammatory tweets, including: "Who cares if I insulted some towelhead ?? Really" and: "The blame is at the door of the Koran."
He also claimed someone outraged by his comments had turned up at his door and tried to punch him.
However, today the Metropolitan police confirmed a man, believed to be Doyle, had been arrested at his home on suspicion of inciting racial hatred on social media.
Tuesday's bomb attack in the Belgian capital left more than 30 people dead and hundreds injured.
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