Philip Pullman, a best-selling British children’s author, has sparked anger among politicians and social media users over a tweet suggesting that Prime Minister Boris Johnson should be hanged on a lamp post.
He tweeted on Thursday: “When I hear the name ‘Boris Johnson’, for some reason the words ‘rope’ and ‘nearest lamp-post’ come to mind as well.”
Incensed reactions quickly started pouring in, with Twitter users accusing the award-winning writer of inciting violence.
“The voice of reasonable, tolerant debate,” Conservative MP Robert Courts tweeted sarcastically. “You always know people have lost the argument and have little intellectual confidence in their case when they resort to hideous language and sick personal abuse like this.”
The voice of reasonable, tolerant debate from @PhilipPullman. He’s deleted his tweet, but here’s what he said.
— Robert Courts MP (@robertcourts) August 29, 2019
You always know people have lost the argument & have little intellectual confidence in their case when they resort to hideous language & sick personal abuse like this. pic.twitter.com/yLQ58wBb52
Lib Dem MP Sarah Wollaston, a former Tory who herself has labelled Johnson a “tin pot dictator”, rebuked Pullman: “No one should give a scrap of incitement to violence, especially those with great influence. You should delete [the tweet].”
No one should give a scrap of incitement to violence, especially those with great influence . You should delete
— Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) August 29, 2019
Actress/author Emma Kennedy responded: “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.”
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?
— Emma Kennedy (@EmmaKennedy) August 29, 2019
Pullman has heeded the call and deleted the tweet, but stood by it and denied advocating lynching the prime minister.
“I wouldn't kill the prime minister, and I don't want anyone else to,” he said. “But I don't apologise for the anger I feel; only for its intemperate expression.”
“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.”
The author was apparently referring to Boris Johnson’s move to suspend the parliament, which he called “a low point in our nation’s political history” and described as the prime minister’s coming-out as a “dictator”.
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.
— Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman) August 28, 2019
Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday approved Johnson’s request to prorogue the parliament in mid-September to foil hard Brexit opponents, in a move that will limit the time for lawmakers to pass legislation blocking any efforts to take Britain out of the European Union.
But Johnson, who still has a narrow majority in parliament, has promised there will be “ample time” for MPs to debate Brexit and insisted it was “completely untrue” to suggest that his move has something to do with Brexit.
The upcoming suspension nevertheless caused outrage among the opposition and triggered an online petition against the move, which has garnered over 1.5 million signatures so far.
An ardent Brexiteer, the Tory leader assumed office in July on the promise that Brexit will take place by the 31 October deadline, whether the UK has a deal with the EU in place by that time or not.
As a new withdrawal agreement is still in the works, there is widespread concern over the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, which would spell trouble for the British economy and revert it to WTO rules for trade – likely meaning higher tariffs and prices as well as cross-border disruption and trade disputes.
