Police drop charges against Londoner who tweeted about asking a Muslim woman to explain Brussels

UPDATE March 25 4:15 p.m. PT

The Metropolitan Police said Friday charges against Mathew Doyle related to his social media comments have been dropped. Doyle was arrested after he tweeted about an encounter with a Muslim woman in which he asked her to explain Brussels.

A court appearance scheduled for Saturday has been canceled following discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service.

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UPDATE March 25 11:22 a.m. ET The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that 46-year-old Mathew Doyle "has been charged under section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986; publishing or distributing written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting, likely or intended to stir up racial hatred."

He will appear in custody at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court on Saturday, Mar. 26.

The Metropolitan Police also confirmed to Mashable that "at around midday on Thursday, 24 March, the man expressed concerns for his health. He was taken to a south London hospital as a precaution."

Original story:

LONDON -- A man in south London has reportedly been arrested after posting a series of inflammatory tweets following the Brussels attacks.

Twitter user Matthew P Doyle gained notoriety on social media Wednesday after posting a tweet saying that he had confronted a Muslim woman in Croydon and asked her to explain the attacks in Brussels, which killed at least 31 people and left dozens more injured.

"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," he wrote in the tweet, which has since been deleted.

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His comments caused consternation online, with Croydon trending for much of the day as people posted their thoughts - as well as a host of mock tweets in the same format.

Doyle then posted a series of statements, initially saying he was joking before adding more controversial remarks. At once point, he started adding the handle of a Sky News reporter to his tweets.

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A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed to Mashable that a 46-year-old man had been arrested at an address in Croydon on suspicion of inciting racial hatred on social media. The man remained in custody as of 10 a.m. Thursday morning.

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Mashable has reached out to Doyle for comment. He told a reporter at the Telegraph that he didn't realise his initial tweet would be the "hand grenade" it turned out to be.

"What everyone's got wrong about this is I didn't confront the woman," he said. "I just said: 'Excuse me, can I ask what you thought about the incident in Brussels?'"

"She was white, and British, wearing a hijab - and she told me it was nothing to do with her. I said 'thank you for explaining that' - and her little boy said goodbye to me as we went our separate ways."

He added that someone turned up at his house Wednesday and tried to punch him, but insisted he was not racist.

"I'm not some far-right merchant, I'm not a mouthpiece for any kind of racism or radicalism," he said. "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."

Doyle says on his Facebook page that he used to attend LSE university, supports Crystal Palace FC and is a fan of Coldplay. He also describes himself as a European and a feminist and lists his place of work as Grant Doyle Associates, a London-based talent agency.

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