Holyrood blimp bid is deflated
CAMPAIGNERS have been refused permission to fly a Donald Trump baby blimp at Holyrood this weekend.
The 20ft inflatable depicting the US president as a nappy-clad baby holding a mobile phone was flown above Parliament Square in London yesterday.
It prompted Mr Trump to say it made him “feel unwelcome” in the city, on his second day of a four-day UK visit.
Organisers had planned to transport the blimp to Scotland overnight on the sleeper train and fly it at a protest near the Scottish Parliament on Saturday.
But a spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said: “Parliamentary officials have declined a request to fly the balloon at Holyrood, as it would not be an appropriate use of the Parliament’s grounds.
“We do, however, support the right to protest and have agreed to the rally setting off from Holyrood on Saturday.”
Earlier, protester Leo Murray, one of the blimp’s “babysitters”, said: “We were inundated with messages asking us to bring Trump baby up, so we really wanted to make sure that he could be a part of the protests taking place over the weekend.
“Trump’s politics are dangerous and divisive, and the baby balloon has been a tremendous success in highlighting the racism, misogyny and xenophobia in the ‘toddler in chief’s’ presidency.”
The group’s previous attempt to have the blimp fly above the Trump Turnberry golf course were blocked due to airspace restrictions.