Sadiq Khan gives green light for giant Donald Trump ‘angry baby’ to fly over Parliament during President’s UK visit
Mayor of London approves request for the giant balloon, dubbed the ‘Trump baby’, to be placed in the capital next Saturday after campaigners raised more than £16,000 for it
SADIQ Khan has given the green light for a giant “angry baby” version of Donald Trump to fly over Parliament during the President's visit to the UK.
The Mayor of London has approved a request for the giant balloon, dubbed the “Trump baby”, to be placed in the capital next Saturday.
It will coincide with a mass demonstration against Mr Trump, who is making his first trip to Britain since entering the White House.
Campaigners have raised more than £16,000 to pay for the six-metre inflatable, and thousands signed a petition requesting it be allowed to fly.
Today Mr Khan gave his backing to the project, with a spokesperson for City Hall saying: "The Mayor supports the right to peaceful protest and understands that this can take many different forms.
"His city operations team have met with the organisers and have given them permission to use Parliament Square Garden as a grounding point for the blimp."
The balloon, which portrays the US leader with a “malevolent face and tiny hands” while wearing a nappy, will be tethered in Parliament Square Garden, and cannot be raised higher than 30 metres.
The group behind the stunt - who call themselves anti-fascist "art activists" – say they have approval from the Metropolitan Police too.
One of the activists, Leo Murray, told Sky News: "We didn’t get off to the best start with the Mayor’s office over this, who originally told us that they didn’t recognise Trump Baby as legitimate protest.
"But following a huge groundswell of public support for our plan, it looks like City Hall has rediscovered its sense of humour. Trump Baby will fly!”
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The group said they wanted to make sure when he arrives “he knows that all of Britain is looking down on him and laughing at him”.
The decision to allow it to fly is the latest salvo in a long-running feud between Mr Khan and Mr Trump.
The Sun Says: No Khan do
SADIQ Khan’s decision to allow a “Trump baby” to fly over London during the President’s visit is childish in the extreme.
It is puerile student politics, virtue-signalling for his social media fans, rather than a grown-up decision from a man whose day job is as the face of the engine of the British economy.
So far his Mayoralty has been marked by Remoaner whining, gesture politics and a knife crime epidemic.
Do your job, Mr Mayor.
Just last month the Labour mayor issued a thinly veiled warning that the President will face angry protesters if he comes to London.
He also said he is “more than happy” to have a showdown with Mr Trump after being repeatedly attacked over violence in the capital.