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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics

Boris Johnson effigy to be burned on bonfire night in Edenbridge

The Edenbridge Bonfire Society's 2018 'celebrity Guy', former foreign secretary Boris Johnson (Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images)

A huge effigy of Boris Johnson will be burned at a Kent town’s annual bonfire night.

Edenbridge Bonfire Society is celebrating its 90th anniversary on Saturday, and has chosen to mark it by burning a massive effigy of the Tory backbencher, leading Brexiteer and former foreign secretary.

Two of the infamous “£350million a week” NHS buses – a key pledge of the Brexit campaign – are at the feet of the Boris effigy, which also features an EU cake.

The society has a tradition of burning "celebrity Guy" effigies going back more than 20 years.

The Edenbridge Bonfire Society's 2018 'celebrity Guy', former foreign secretary Boris Johnson (Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images)

Mr Johnson this year joins previous targets including Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump and Katie Price.

Artist Andrea Deans poses next to the Edenbridge Bonfire Society's Boris Johnsn effigy (Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images)

Laura Burton-Lawrence, from the Edenbridge Bonfire Society, explained this year’s choice: “I think he’s done quite a few gaffes this year already.

"If you look at him on the internet, there’s pages dedicated to the amount of Boris gaffes that he has done.

“But I think particularly as this time it has affected other people’s lives as well, so we felt he has done one too many.

“Boris – this year you are it.”

The effigy, designed by artist Andrea Deans, was unveiled on Wednesday.

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