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Updated 14.17
A MAN WHO, was arrested last week after sending a tweet about confronting a Muslim woman in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Brussels, says he plans on making an official complaint against the London Metropolitan Police, and on making a damages claim against them.
46-year-old Matthew Doyle sent a tweet in the aftermath of the terror attacks suggesting that he had confronted a Muslim woman about her reaction in the wake of the attacks.
In the aftermath of the tweet Doyle was castigated on Twitter. He removed the tweet, then claimed he had been joking, then switched tack and reaffirmed the sentiment behind the message.
After his tweet created an online storm, Doyle was arrested by the Met Police on suspicion of incitement to hatred.
He was subsequently released without charge on Friday after the police acknowledged they had no specific power to arrest him in the first place.
“Police may not make charging decisions on offences under Section 19 of the Public Order Act,” the force said in its statement.
There will be further consultation with CPS (Crown Prosecution Service).
False arrest
In a statement today to TheJournal.ie, Doyle affirmed that he intends to sue the Metropolitan Police Force.
“I intend to sue London’s Metropolitan Police… they have falsely arrested and detained me over a period of 48 hours over a potential crime they have no empowerment over,” he said.
They had the audacity to celebrate a wrongful arrest in a tweet before I was formally charged.
I will be forced to leave my neighbourhood in south London for fear of reprisals due to a cack-handed approach by the Metropolitan Police. I am in hiding and my electronic devices are still held by the police.
Doyle added that he mourns “the lives lost In Brussels, Paris and Tunisia (30 Britons killed in that latter incident alone – not that my nationality means any more than others murdered by Islamic Extremists in the last six months)”.
Twitter trolls
In an interview with the Guardian, Doyle now says that he plans to make an official complaint and damages claim against the police.
“In reality, the Met added ammunition to whatever I said,” Doyle said.
They smelt blood, but got egg on both their face and reputation.
Doyle denied that he regretted sending the controversial tweets, saying “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,” he said.
Regarding his initial meeting with the Muslim woman, an interaction which apparently did in fact happen, Doyle said that they had a “polite conversation” before going their separate ways.
“We had a polite conversation and moved on. I thanked her for talking to me,” he said.
The conversation took place in south Croydon. If I was being either threatening or racist, she was free to report me.
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Shane Ross is not interested in fighting. If he was he would be fighting to regulate the car insurance industry and be telling us where the income from 245,000 vehicles a day, most of them commercial that cross just one of eleven toll bridges is going.
@Tom Fennelly: The only thing they fight over is how much of a pay rise they are entitled too
Mcgregor is an inspiration to the country. The most famous Irish man bar none. I’ll tell you what’s disturbing, hunting, horse racing, grey hound racing, bull fighting… They don’t have a choice. Mma two consenting adults throw down and suffer minimal injuries. What’s disturbing about that?
@Eoin de Barra: we don’t go much for bull fighting in Ireland Eoin…..bull$hit yes, but not bull fighting. As for “consenting adults” I think you’re on the wrong thread with that one :-)
@Eoin de Barra: He’s not an inspiration to me, or most of the people I know. I’ve never seen any of these fights, only see McGregor in news clips promoting himself and his brand, I chose not to buy into it as I am not a sheep.
@Sloop John G: good man sloop. I live in Spain. Bullfighting exists here. You’ll have to look up the meaning of consenting kid.
@Nick Drake: well done fella.
@Eoin de Barra: Yeah, minimal damage, tell that to Joao Carvalho’s family.
@Weldoninhio: people have died running half marathons. It was a freak incident.
@Eoin de Barra: People died from blunt force trauma running half marathons?? Tough 13 miles
@Weldoninhio: that was tragic for sure. But it was a freak accident. It’s not the norm for sure. Hunters shoot to kill. I think that’s a problem.
@Eoin de Barra: Hunters kill dumb animals, not humans. Should we start arresting lions for the murder of gazelles??
@Weldoninhio: more people have died from playing rugby and its blunt force trauma. Mr Ross is happy to go to those games
Most intelligent people won’t watch this farce.
@P C: you have met the McGregor fans haven’t you? They’ll definitely be watching it.
@JJ O Riordan: yeah the “McGregor Fans” are easily identified, they are the ones that dont have their heads up their backsides
@Jonny Chip: and their knuckles scrape off the ground as they walk.
@Jonny Chip: Exactly, they have their heads up McTapper’s backside.
I would give Ross a small amount of respect for his views, however it’s to late to worry about McGregor, behaviour like wearing a polar bear fur coat and trying to Dance on the bonnet of someone else’s car indicates catastrophic and irreversible brain damage.
@Dave Hogan: haha brilliant.. comment of the day
@Dave Hogan: comment of the year
Mr Ross, it’s not a MMA fight its Boxing ,
@ger power1: it’s a freak show
@ger power1: It’s not boxing either. In boxing, both people need to be able to box.
Shiny new teeth and a ticket to every major sporting event in the land. It’s amazing what a Ministry will do for a man.
Pity those new teeth didn’t come with a bit of bite.
And in other news: Leo Varadkar cuts his front lawn and paschal donohue blows his nose. Wow!
@theupsidedown: Leo lives in an apartment and Pascal has no nose.
@John O’Shea: comment of the day lolol
@John O’Shea: who said anything about grass?
Ross cares about nooooo one only himself ! As much as I’m not a fan of Mc Gregor he’s twice the man Ross is and that saying something .
Good for him not pretending he likes mcgregor or MMA just because an Irish chap has done well in it. This fight is nothing to get too brotheled about
Ha ha who really cares what Shane Ross thinks about McGregor vs. Mayweather?
He’s job is to propagate sports, but with a lean towards highly lucrative ones that can bring tax revenues. Boxing and MMA typically won’t bring massive revenues in Ireland. Larger field based team sports do so his is what he will focus on for the most part.
If that changed then he’d be all over boxing , mma etc.
Deffo not going to watch now that my hero Shane Ross wont..
UPDATE: Mayweather VS McGregor cancelled after Irish minister for Sport declares he won’t watch it.
Is there a prize for worst headline ever?
the phantom: that’s a great new word “brotheled “I am stealing it of you
@Brian O Reilly: Me too.
Shane Ross… an utterly usrless and incompetent politician and aside from that comes across as an eccentric nerd who is a bit of a chancer. But as an Irish politician he isn’t in the minority unfortunately.
Shane Ross is an out of touch failed plonker ! You cannot push back a flooding tide. Cmac is huge and MMA is huge and we should be very proud that he represents our country with such passion and pride. Sure, there are elements in MMA which may appear to be unsavoury but that goes for nearly all contact sports. Ice hockey, USA football, rugby( union and league), boxing etc. His wishy washy ” I’ll be watching all the ladies rugby” etc is patronising and nauseating. Go back and do what you do best. Holding hands with Eamonn Dunphy !!!
I am to my shame going to watch it ,but at a local venue with all the other Romans
Never going to be fun watching fun watching someone (McGregor) get battered
Does anyone honestly give a fck whether Ross watches this fight or not?
Hickey knocked him out in Rio. Useless spineless worm. That said he knows farce and shit when he sees it.
@Eoin de Barra: Shane Ross should definitely do something about bull fighting in Ireland.
Who actually gives a f### what he thinks
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