When President Trump comes to Britain later this week, a giant 20ft balloon depicting him as an orange baby in diapers will be flown over the Houses of Parliament.

It will be the visual fulcrum for a large scale ‘Stop Trump’ protest being planned in London to welcome the divisive leader of the free world on his official state visit.

Campaigners crowd-funded their balloon stunt by raising $25,000 online to pay for it. Their intent is simply to humiliate President Trump in a way that will garner embarrassing images and headlines around the world.

It was a decision that incensed Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York.

‘Sadiq Khan should be ashamed of himself,’ he raged. ‘Maybe he should just do his job instead of attacking a world leader? Many people who come to London are Americans. More than half of us in the US now support the President and even those who don’t support him, support his office. I would not like to go to a country where someone with the authority of a mayor was rallying people against them. It’s highly inappropriate.’

Giuliani, whose own ‘zero tolerance’ policies were widely applauded for substantially reducing violent crime in New York, added: ‘He’s so busy attacking President Trump’s visit and in the meantime, crime is spiralling in London. If crime is going up, he is obviously not paying attention to his job. This is one mayor who can tell him how to reduce crime – you have to pay attention to your job. From one mayor to another – do your job, Mr Khan.’

He makes a very good point.

I wonder how long it took Mayor Khan to approve this idea?

As long as it takes for the blade of a knife to pierce human flesh?

Or for a bullet to explode in someone’s heart?

Or for a thug on a moped to snatch a woman’s handbag?

I ask this because Giuliani’s absolutely right: violent crime in London has rocketed on Mayor Khan’s watch.

Full column: Daily Mail