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| English town to burn Alex Salmond effigy | English town to burn Alex Salmond effigy |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Alex Salmond has criticised plans to burn an effigy of him during bonfire night celebrations in an English town. | |
| Thousands of people are to watch the effigy of the Scottish first minister being burned in the East Sussex town of Lewes. | |
| Mr Salmond told BBC Scotland he was "used to insults from Tories in East Sussex" and questioned the judgement of those behind the effigy. | |
| But he said he was more worried about Nessie, who will also to be burned. | |
| East Sussex County Council faced an immediate backlash on Twitter after tweeting a picture of Mr Salmond's effigy, complete with a "Yes" badge, a sign saying "45%" and the Loch Ness monster looking over his shoulder. | East Sussex County Council faced an immediate backlash on Twitter after tweeting a picture of Mr Salmond's effigy, complete with a "Yes" badge, a sign saying "45%" and the Loch Ness monster looking over his shoulder. |
| One Twitter user responded: "Can you imagine the uproar amongst Better Together campaigners had Yes supporters burned an effigy of David Cameron?" | One Twitter user responded: "Can you imagine the uproar amongst Better Together campaigners had Yes supporters burned an effigy of David Cameron?" |
| Others posted the council's switchboard telephone number, and urged people to complain. | Others posted the council's switchboard telephone number, and urged people to complain. |
| The council later clarified: "Please note that the Alex Salmond and Nessie models were created by Waterloo Bonfire Society #LewesBonfire and have NO connection to ESCC". The original tweet was removed. | The council later clarified: "Please note that the Alex Salmond and Nessie models were created by Waterloo Bonfire Society #LewesBonfire and have NO connection to ESCC". The original tweet was removed. |
| The Waterloo Bonfire Society is one of six which parade through the town every year. The societies all have their traditions, costumes, fire sites and fireworks. | |
| But Mr Salmond said the Conservative-run council had to "accept a bit of responsibility" as it had posted the photograph on the internet. | |
| He said: "I'm in pretty good company - Angela Merkel got the burning treatment from the East Sussex Conservative council. | |
| "I think their judgement is askew but if they think I'm a threat to the Westminster establishment like Guy Fawkes, they are right. | |
| "I am used to insults from Tories in East Sussex and if they think that is a good thing to do it is up to them." | |
| Mr Salmond said he was "a bit more worried about Nessie, to be absolutely frank". | |
| He said: "I think it is totally outrageous. I mean what has Nessie ever done to the East Sussex Conservative Party and their council that they want to burn Nessie, one of Scotland's greatest iconic symbols in a bonfire. | |
| "I am sure there must be a law against burning effigies of defenceless animals, although if the East Sussex Tories came to Scotland they might find that Nessie is not quite as defenceless as they think." | |
| Mr Salmond said people in Scotland should not "judge people in the south of England, in East Sussex, ordinary folk, by the standards of the East Sussex Tory council." | |
| The first minister added: "The last thing I would do to my many friends in England is tar them with the Tory brush. I think one of the very few things that is wrong with England is the quality of their elected representatives and once they sort that out English society will go back to being the decent country that we all know it is." | |
| A spokesman for Mr Salmond had earlier said: "The Tory-controlled East Sussex County Council obviously view the first minister - and the 45% of Scots who voted Yes - as as big a threat to the Westminster establishment as Guy Fawkes, although it's unclear why poor Nessie has been targeted. | |
| "It's a typical Tory attitude to Scotland, whether north or south of the border." | "It's a typical Tory attitude to Scotland, whether north or south of the border." |
| And Kevin Pringle, the SNP's strategic communications director, tweeted: "Tory @EastSussexCC promoting burning effigy of @AlexSalmond & sign of the 45% who voted #Yes does @RuthDavidsonMSP no favours. #LewesBonfire" | |
| Ms Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, responded: "Funny they never gave a squeak when a David Cameron effigy was burned two years ago." | Ms Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, responded: "Funny they never gave a squeak when a David Cameron effigy was burned two years ago." |
| However, Ms Davidson said she found the event "distasteful". | However, Ms Davidson said she found the event "distasteful". |
| An effigy of David Cameron holding a "puppet Nick Clegg" was burned in Lewes in 2010. Other effigies in previous years have included Osama Bin Laden. | An effigy of David Cameron holding a "puppet Nick Clegg" was burned in Lewes in 2010. Other effigies in previous years have included Osama Bin Laden. |
| The event is said to be one of the largest bonfire celebrations in the UK, with 30,000 people attending last year. | The event is said to be one of the largest bonfire celebrations in the UK, with 30,000 people attending last year. |
| Elsewhere, an effigy of former European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will be burned in the Kent town of Edenbridge | Elsewhere, an effigy of former European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will be burned in the Kent town of Edenbridge |