‘Expel Ken! Corbyn Out’ banner set to fly over Wembley Stadium

A plane is set to fly over Wembley Stadium during Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Manchester City with a banner saying: “Expel Ken! Corbyn Out”.

The stunt aims to draw attention to allegations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and Ken Livingstone’s continued membership despite claiming Hitler supported Zionism.

The plane is scheduled to be piloted by Simon Moores of Airads, at 3:41pm, just before half-time, after permission was secured for the flight, from both Heathrow Air Traffic Control and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), having worked out a compromise with the CAA over their interpretation of EU regulations.

Funds for the stunt were raised via a donation page, which states the thinking behind the project. “Ken Livingstone has spent years going out of his way to pick fights with Jews. Banging on about Hitler “supporting Zionism” is not “criticism of Israel”. It is a lie, and an attempt to humiliate Jews by associating them with Hitler. Yet he remains a Labour member.

“Under Corbyn, Labour’s persistent tolerance of Livingstone is a symptom of a wider problem. Corbyn is a friend of dictators and terrorists. He’s met Assad and he opposed action against his chemical weapons; he has history with Assad’s backers, Iran, Russia and Hezbollah.

“Corbyn likes to say he’s an Arsenal fan. Earlier this year, Arsenal fans flew planes with rival WengerOut and Respect AW messages. WengerOut is now a global meme seen randomly at demos and events worldwide. But Corbyn is no Wenger.

A spokesman for the campaign said: “We started fundraising before Theresa May called a snap General Election. But Election or not, we felt that some issues transcend party politics. Labour has become institutionally anti-Semitic and the party has failed to address the problem. The Expel Ken plane flies.”