THEY took to the streets in their tens of thousands, complete with a 16ft talking robot perched on a golden toilet and a Donald Trump baby blimp.

Protesters thronged the streets of London yesterday on the second day of the US President’s state visit.

As Mr Trump took part in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Theresa May – where he denounced the protests outside as “fake news” – demonstrators gathered in Parliament Square.

And in Scotland, several hundred people later rallied in Glasgow and Edinburgh with an array of placards and home-made signs.


Addressing protesters in London, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford stressed the demonstrations were not about the American people.

He added: “It’s about one man – it’s about Donald Trump, and his policies of hate, of racism.”

Mr Blackford hit out at the President’s positions on climate change and immigration.

He said: “His mother came from the Isle of Lewis. And to see Donald Trump turn his back on migrants when he himself comes from a family of immigrants is morally reprehensible.

“And I’ll tell you this Donald, if you come back to the islands you’ll find that the doors of the houses are always open and that we welcome people in.

“How dare you turn your back on your ancestry and that spirit of openness and welcoming people that we cherish so much.”

He added: “It’s not about disrespecting the presidency – it’s about the responsibility that we all have, that you have, to stand up and say, ‘Not in our name, Donald Trump.’”

Colourful additions to the London protests included a 16ft talking robot of the President sitting on a golden toilet, which repeated phrases such as “no collusion”, “you are fake news” and “I’m a very stable genius”.

Organisers estimated tens of thousands were involved in the demonstrations – fewer than the estimated 250,000 who gathered when Mr Trump visited the UK in July last year.

The 20ft Trump baby blimp, which became the focus of last year’s protest, took to the skies for a second time after permission was granted by the Greater London Authority.

Elsewhere, heated arguments broke out between protesters and a small group of Mr Trump’s supporters in Parliament Square.

More than 3,182 officers were deployed across London as part of a huge police and security operation, with protesters barred from demonstrating directly outside Downing Street.

In Edinburgh, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said Mr Trump is guilty of misogyny, Islamophobia, climate change denial and racism.

He told a crowd of around 200 people gathered outside St Giles’ Cathedral: “This is not about left versus right. This is about right versus wrong.”

Edinburgh pupil Kenneth MacIver, 13, who has been part of the recent school climate protests, also told protesters Mr Trump should not be welcomed.

Morag Williamson, 69, was standing with a sign branding Mr Trump a disgrace.

She said: “I think he is an appalling human being and we should not have welcomed him in London. He certainly would not have been welcomed in Scotland. I’m particularly concerned by Brexit and the fact that he would be powerful in arranging trade deals.”

Nearby, Rod Dalitz, 71, said Mr Trump “has no respect for truth or evidence”.

But not everyone was happy to join the protest. One tourist visiting Scotland from Alabama, who declined to give his name, said he was “saddened” by the demonstration and the speakers.

“Trump is not their problem,” he said. “Most of what they are saying is not even true. Everybody has something to say, but nobody is listening.”