Charge against "Brussels tweet" PR man dropped

You might have heard about the PR exec who was arrested after tweeting that he "confronted" a Muslim woman about Brussels somewhere in London. His tweet went viral very quickly and gathered hundreds of responses, many of which were retweeted by Matthew Doyle, as he noted “Thanks all you tweeters for proving I can still do PR.”

Some of the replies include:

What has a Muslim woman in Croydon, got to do with the horrific events in Belgium, you simpleton?https://t.co/U8usNe3k83

— Raf (@1Rafz) March 23, 2016

@MatthewDoyle31 did anyone accost you on the streets of Croydon after the Brevik shooting in Norway?

— Michael Maxwell (@MJMaxwell) March 23, 2016

Mr Doyle, was arrested on Wednesday, had been charged with publishing or distributing threatening, abusive or insulting material, likely or intended to stir up racial hatred. Today after consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the Met said he was "no longer charged" and will not be appearing in court. A Met Police spokesman said it was for the CPS, and not the police, to make the decision to charge, and it was withdrawn. The incident is still under investigation and Mr Doyle has been released while police consult the CPS. Mr Doyle now faces what might be the toughest PR job ever, he needs to clear his name. He has already stated to the Telegraph that his statements were intended as a joke, and that he had people who "turned up at my door, gave me a load of abuse and tried to throw a punch at me." for his tweets.

"I'm not some far-right merchant, I'm not a mouthpiece for any kind of racism or radicalism," he says. "If I was xenophobic I wouldn't live in London.
"I have a Muslim neighbour who got burgled, and I was one of the first people to go around to help."
However, he says he does believe Muslims aren't doing enough to speak out against terrorism.
"The horror that happened in Brussels could happen here," he adds, "and your naive if you think London isn't on some terror shortlist."