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Philip Pullman has deleted a tweet in which he said that he thinks of 'rope' and 'nearest lamp post' when he hears Boris Johnson's name.

The author tweeted: “When I hear the name ‘Boris Johnson’, for some reason the words ‘rope’ and ‘nearest lamp-post’ come to mind as well”.

The comment was met with backlash, with people calling for the tweet to be deleted.

Pullman did not initially remove the comments, writing in a follow-up tweet: “For goodness’ sake. Of course I wasn’t advocating hanging the b******.

"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."

But he later deleted the tweet and apologised for his "tactical error".

He wrote: "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.

"Johnson's attempt to silence Parliament is a low point in our nation's political history. It was not my aim to distract from the genuine and legitimate outrage of many people at this, and I'm sorry it happened.

"Freedom of speech, like freedom of assembly, is precious. So is life. Just to make it perfectly clear: I wouldn't kill the prime minister, and I don't want anyone else to. But I don't apologise for the anger I feel; only for its intemperate expression."

Several people commented on the post, with author Emma Kennedy writing: "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?"

Other Twitter users wrote they had reported Mr Pullman's tweet and encouraged others to do so.

The Met Police had been tagged several times in the thread.

Pullman's controversial tweet-spree follows a post last night where he wrote that Johnson had "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," he said.