Former East 17 Singer Brian Harvey Arrested On Suspicion Of Sending "Malicious Tweets"

Brian Harvey, the former lead singer of renowned Nineties boy-band East 17, has been arrested on suspicion of sending a series of malicious tweets.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said that the 43 year old star was detained and taken to a London police station.

“The Metropolitan Police Service has received an allegation of malicious communications relating to a Twitter account,” a statement from the Met read on Thursday (November 23rd). “On Wednesday… a man in his forties was arrested on suspicion of malicious communications and has been taken to a north London police station. Enquiries continue.”

Harvey was a member of the London-based East 17, who sold more than 18 million records and scored 17 UK Top Twenty singles in their career.

More: Brian Harvey reveals he almost took his own life [archive]

However, he was sacked from the group in 1997 following comments he made about ecstasy, in the wake of the death of teenager Leah Betts, who died after taking a pill at a party when she was 18. However, he subsequently rejoined the group under the re-branded name E-17.

Since East 17 dissolved, Harvey has struggled in his personal life with depression, about which he has been open in interviews.

He appeared in 2004’s ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’, but quit after rowing with fellow contestant Janet Street-Porter. In 2005, he was admitted to hospital following a bizarre accident in which he was run over by his own car – caused by him falling out after being sick after “eating a load of jacket potatoes”, and the Mercedes-Benz’s wheels moving over his body.

In 2007, Harvey launched a failed attempt to become the UK’s entry for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. In 2015, he personally lobbied the prime minister asking to launch his own enquiry into the Rotherham sex abuse scandal.

More: Brian Harvey recreates near-death accident for new rap video [archive]