POLICE Scotland has launched an investigation and apologised after its official Twitter feed insulted a Newsnight panellist debating abuse on social media.
Journalist Toby Young was mocked by @policescotland in a tweet saying he "had made a right tit of it" on the BBC Two show. The comment was later deleted.
It was written after Mr Young took part in the TV discussion with Labour MP Stella Creasy who challenged him about tweeting about a politician's cleavage in a discussion about online harassment.
The force said the matter was being investigated and Twitter access was being reviewed.
The tweet came from the official Police Scotland feed which provides information on incidents and raises awareness of policing and its campaigns. It is managed by force communications staff.
Mr Young said it was an "insult" and that he had blocked the force's account, but he was not offended and would not complain.
He added: "The British police have been taking a keen interest in Twitter trolls recently, investigating allegations of abuse and, in some cases, arresting people. But who should you report abuse to if the troll-in-question is a member of the police?
"And I'm not talking about an off-duty police officer tweeting from home. I'm talking about being abused by an official police Twitter feed.
"Being called a 'right tit' is pretty mild by Twitter standards. Abuse may be over-egging it. Insult is nearer to the mark. And I should point out I wasn't overly troubled by it – I merely blocked the account and thought nothing more about it."
He hoped the "poor, overworked drudge who probably confused his or her Twitter feed with the offical one he or she is responsible for, wouldn't get into trouble".
On Newsnight, Ms Creasy, who said she was still getting death and rape threats despite publicity given to abuse, challenged Mr Young about his Twitter behaviour.
She said: "We need to make sure that police at a local level and at a national level understand the risks and dangers that can come from online behaviour. But fundamentally this is about taking violence against women seriously.
"And Toby, I just don't think you understand: nobody is talking about stopping you making comments about MPs' tits. I'd really hope you would stop doing that on your own."
She was referring to Mr Young's tweet last year about Labour MP Pamela Nash, when he asked who the "serious cleavage" sitting behind Ed Miliband "belongs to" during Prime Minister's Questions.
Mr Young who defended Twitter's ability to deal with online abuse, later explained: "It wasn't my proudest moment. I asked who a particular MP was, who I couldn't see the head of, who was sitting behind Ed Milliband and was wearing an extremely low cut dress.
"I committed the sin of noticing it and apparently that constitutes harassment in some people's views."
He explained his nervousness about reports Twitter had begun to incorporate cases of "harassment" into its abuse policy meaning anyone guility will be banned.
"The problem is that is a vague, elastic term and is open to abuse," he said.
Police Scotland wrote on Twitter: "We apologise for the tweet sent to @toadmeister and for any upset caused. The matter is being investigated and we're reviewing Twitter access."
Mr Young suggested the police should not bother even looking into what happened.
"The police shouldn't bother to investigate run-of-the-mill troll gibberish, and I hope this silly mistake deters them from doing so in future," he said.
"Sometimes, when someone says something you disagree with on television, it's hard not to get overexcited and tweet something you later regret, as @policescotland demonstrated."
The original Police Scotland message, swiftly deleted last night, said: "A revelation for #newsnight (UK) viewing tonight seeing @toadmeister make a right tit of it with @stellacreasy #longwaytogoladies."
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