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A Cambridge University student who tweeted "ALL white people are racist" has revealed he received death and rape threats over the remark.

Writing in the Guardian, Jason Okundaye said his remarks on Twitter were "misconstrued" and were used by the media to insinuate he supported violence against white people, and had led to him receiving "death threats, rape threats and racist insults".

Mr Okundaye, 20, president of the Black and Minority Ethnic campaign at the university, came under fire on Saturday, July 29 after posting a string of posts on Twitter.

His remarks followed violent protests in Hackney, East London, on the preceding Friday night (July 28) over the death of Rashan Charles following a struggle with police.

(Image: PA)

Mr Charles' death led to accusations of excessive force and police brutality from the local community, with a police watchdog launching an investigation.

One of Mr Okundaye's tweets read: "ALL white people are racist. White middle class, white working class, white men, white women, white gays, white children they can ALL geddit."

Another tweet said it was "absolutely delicious" to watch "middle-class white people despair over black people protesting in their colonised Dalston".

The sociology and politics student's comments following the violence led to calls by News readers for Mr Okundaye to be "suspended" or even "expelled".

University staff are now investigating the calls for the suspension of Mr Okundaye, a student at Pembroke College.

A university spokesperson said: “Pembroke College is looking into this matter and will respond appropriately.”

Mr Okundaye wrote in an article for the Guardian yesterday (August 6) that several papers has "misconstrued the meaning of my tweets and stripped them of proper context".

He wrote: "I simply meant to observe that racial prejudice, where it exists, transcends gender, class, sexuality and age.

"Hence my statement that 'white middle class, white working class, white men, white women, white gays, white children' are racist, while rhetorically hyperbolic, was a clear reference to the fact that racism is not an exclusive characteristic of any one demographic."

Mr Okundaye said Cambridgeshire police had "swiftly dropped" their investigation because it was clear his comments were not "an incitement to racial hatred".

He also addressed his comments about Dalston being "colonised" by middle-class white people.

He said: "Separately, I also expressed my concern for how often working-class black (and white) communities in certain corners of London find it difficult to survive when faced with the arrival of a richer class of people with a significant stock of capital.

"I have friends and family who have experienced the demolition of social housing as London becomes more and more a playground for the elite."

Mr Okundaye said the controversy over his tweets had led to "significant personal consequences" for himself and his family, adding he had received death threats, rape threats and racist insults.

He added: "The press often attacks members of the public, often with character attacks on students of colour, as they believe that such people are unable to defend themselves.

"The torrent of abuse and death threats you receive as a victim of this treatment makes you reluctant to speak out against the press, for fear that you will just provoke them more.

"But commitment to social change means challenging ideas and thought structures and continuing to in spite of barriers and backlash."

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed to the News on July 30 that the matter was being investigated by officers, but Mr Okundaye said in his article that the investigation has been dropped.

Cambridgeshire Police have been approached for comment.