Savills estate agent, 37, is arrested ‘over vile racist tweet about black England stars’ after turning himself into police station
- BREAKING: Savills estate agent who ‘posted racist tweet about black England footballers’ has been arrested
- Andrew Bone, 37, self-presented at Cheadle Heath police station this morning and was subsequently arrested
- Bone claimed his Twitter account had been hacked after Savills suspended him over a tweet on Sunday night
- Tweet published after England’s Euros defeat to Italy at Wembley Stadium had said: ‘N*****s ruined it for us’
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Greater Manchester Police have arrested the Savills estate agent who allegedly posted a racist tweet about black England football stars after the Three Lions lost the European Championship to Italy.
Andrew Bone, 37, self-presented at Cheadle Heath police station this morning and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act.
Bone, a commercial building manager, claimed that his Twitter account had been hacked after Savills suspended him over a tweet published on Sunday night which said: ‘N*****s ruined it for us.’
The message was posted shortly after England players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho all missed their penalties in Sunday night’s Euros final at Wembley Stadium.
Three officers carrying evidence bags and a police radio searched Bone’s terraced home in Manchester and spent 20 minutes gathering evidence before they left clutching a laptop.
Andrew Bone, 37, self-presented at Cheadle Heath police station this morning and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act, Greater Manchester Police said
Three officers carrying evidence bags and a police radio searched Bone’s terraced home in Manchester and spent 20 minutes gathering evidence before they left clutching a laptop
In a statement, GMP said a suspect remains in custody for questioning. Detective Inspector Matt Gregory of the force’s Trafford division said: ‘The actions of a small number of people overshadowed what was a hugely unifying event for our country on Sunday evening.
‘We are firm in our commitment, any racist abuse whether online or off is not acceptable.
‘We now have one man in custody and our investigation continues. If you think you have information on this post, we’d like to hear from you on 0161 856 4973, quoting incident number 109 of 12/7/2021.
‘You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Anyone who has been a victim, or witness of hate crime, please do report it at your earliest opportunity, using 101, LiveChat or online at gmp.police.uk. Alternatively you can visit www.letsendhatecrime.com.’
Savills said Bone has been suspended pending the outcome of the force’s investigation.
Bone’s Twitter account and LinkedIn page have both been deleted. Bone’s stepfather Robert Dutson claimed the account had been hacked by someone with a ‘grievance.’
England’s Bukayo Saka applauds fans after the Euro 2020 final against Italy at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night
Marcus Rashford (left) and Jadon Sancho (right) also faced racist abuse after missing their penalties in the final on Sunday
A GMP spokesman previously said: ‘Greater Manchester Police has received complaints about a social media post following the Italy v England Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
‘Reports from across the UK are being collated by United Kingdom Football Policing Unit and the Metropolitan Police and will then be allocated to the relevant forces for further investigation if required.’
A Savills spokesman previously said: ‘Savills confirms that the staff member connected with the racist comments placed on Twitter claims that his account was taken over by a third party and that the matter is being referred to the Greater Manchester Police.
‘Savills has acted swiftly and confirms that the individual is suspended from duty pending the findings of this investigation, which is being progressed as a priority.
‘Savills has a policy of zero tolerance on any form of racial abuse or discrimination.’