Philip Pullman denies ‘advocating hanging’ Boris Johnson amid criticism at ‘rope’ and ‘lamp-post’ tweet
The His Dark Materials author said that he had ‘temporarily lost [his] judgement’
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Your support makes all the difference.Philip Pullman has apologised for a tweet he sent early this morning and said that he doesn’t ”advocate hanging Boris Johnson”.
The His Dark Materials author previously tweeted: “When I hear the name ‘Boris Johnson’, for some reason the words ‘rope’ and ‘nearest lamp-post’ come to mind as well”.
Following criticism from many on Twitter, Pullman deleted the tweet and commented: “I’ve deleted a tweet which apparently upset a lot of people. I don’t advocate hanging Boris Johnson. I think that would be a very bad idea. Recent events have aroused my anger to the point where I temporarily lost my judgement. In the heat of the moment I made a tactical error.”
He had earlier tweeted: “For goodness’ sake. Of course I wasn’t advocating hanging the bastard. But rulers who try and do away with democratic parliaments come to bad ends. As I pointed out on Twitter some time ago, the axe and the block are still in working order.”
Pullman’s earlier tweet was met with criticism shortly after it was posted, with author Emma Kennedy suggesting that he take down the comment before he faces consequences.
She tweeted: “Philip, you’re my hero, but that tweet will be reported and you’ll be banned and that would be the absolute last thing we all need. So pause and perhaps think about deleting?”
Others have written of their intention to report the tweet, with one Twitter user copying in the Twitter handle of the Metropolitan Police over Pullman’s message.
“Threatening violence against MPs? Good job that’s never led to any bad consequences for anyone,” wrote one follower.
Another added: “I’m a big fan but this is a step too far. You may want to delete this.”
Steve Peers, professor of EU, Human Rights and World Trade Law at the University of Essex, tweeted to Pullman, “This is seriously OTT”.
Pullman last night expressed anger over Johnson’s successful bid to suspend parliament for five weeks ahead of the Brexit deadline, tweeting: “The ‘prime minister’ has finally come out as a dictator. I’ve had enough of being outraged. We must get rid of him and his loathsome gang as soon and as finally as possible.”
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