London’s mayor under fire over balloon stunt

LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan was accused yesterday of ‘harming Britain’ for approving a balloon protest plotted by a Labour peer’s grandson against Donald Trump. A giant blimp depicting the US President as a wailing baby in a nappy will fly near the Houses of Parliament next week after Mr Khan bowed to a petition of 10,000 signatures. The balloon protest is set to coincide with a day of nationwide demonstrations against Mr Trump’s first official visit to Britain as president, including a march through Trafalgar Square in central London. The orchestrator of the ‘Trump Baby’ protest is Leo Murray, a descendant of the late Labour politician Anthony Greenwood.

Michael Chessum, a prominent Momentum activist who dismissed Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘kinder politics’ in favour of ‘heads on sticks’, has coorganised the largest anti-Trump march.

Celebrities and politicians including Lily Allen, Paloma Faith, former Labour leader Ed Miliband and ex-Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron have backed the campaigns against Mr Trump.

Protests during his visit to Britain are planned throughout Friday, beginning with the flight of the 20fthigh ‘Trump Baby’ balloon.

Mr Khan has given it permission to fly over Parliament Square between 9.30am and 11.30am. Although the balloon still requires final approval from the police and national air traffic service, one of Trump Baby’s organisers, Max Wakefield, said the group behind the stunt are ‘confident it will obtain all necessary permits’.

Describing the reasons behind the balloon, Mr Murray said: ‘Mr Trump really seems to hate it when people make fun of him. We want to make sure he knows all of Britain is looking down on him and laughing at him.’

A spokesman for Mr Khan said the mayor ‘supports the right to peaceful protest’.

But Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell, who will campaign to be the next mayor of London, said: ‘I think it’s desperately sad that instead of seeing this as an opportunity for London and Britain, the mayor is supporting something that will only be seen as insulting to the president of a country which is our greatest friend and ally.

‘Instead of playing politics with the visit, the mayor should have been acting with dignity. All the mayor is doing is harming London and harming Britain by supporting such a stunt.’

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage added: ‘This is the biggest insult to a sitting US President ever.’

A counter-protest to create a giant Sadiq Khan baby balloon had last night raised more than £23,000.

‘Playing politics with the visit’