Stephen Fry calls the government 'children playing with matches' in scathing tweet

Stephen Fry has weighed in on the news that parliament will be suspended in the run-up to Brexit, calling it a "dangerous coup d’état"

He likened the government to: "Children playing with matches, but spitefully not accidentally: gleefully torching an ancient democracy and any tattered shreds of reputation or standing our poor country had left."

It's his first tweet since the news of the Queen approving Prime Minister Boris Johnson's prorogation request, which sparked a protest in Westminster yesterday evening.

His tweet has no received almost 30,000 retweets and more than 110,000 likes.

Many responded to his tweet sharing - including Leave voters.

Journalist Aaron Bastani was among those who took issue with the wording.

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