Brexit supporters on Friday burnt a European Union flag in central London, as the country prepared to leave the bloc after nearly half a century. An AFP photographer at the scene saw one man draped in a Union flag set fire to the blue and yellow emblem of the soon-to-be 27-member organisation in front of crowds. Crowds gathered in and around Parliament Square before the planned 11:00 pm (2300 GMT) departure, which the government was marking by lighting up government buildings in red, white and blue. Some chanted "Bye bye, EU, bye bye!" Pro-EU supporters in and around government offices on Whitehall countered with chants of their own. Britain voted narrowly to leave the EU in a referendum in 2016, dividing the country. Parliament ratified Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with Brussels earlier this month. photo-phz/zak/har