'Boris blimp' at London rally as thousands march against Brexit

The anti-Brexit march went by the slogan: 'No to Boris, yes to Europe

London, United Kingdom - Thousands of anti-Brexit demonstrators have marched on the streets of London in the latest bid to show opposition to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, and against the ruling Conservative Party's shift towards a no-deal Brexit.

The march on Saturday - which went by the slogan "No to Boris, Yes to Europe" - was a more explicit call for the UK to remain in the EU than previous demonstrations, which focused on demanding a second referendum on the terms of Britain's exit from the bloc.

The protest came days before the UK is due to install a new prime minister, as the Conservatives go through the last round of voting to elect the party's new leader.

The two contenders for the post are former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, tipped as the frontrunner, and his successor, Jeremy Hunt.

An inflatable "Boris blimp" was flown over the city's Parliament Square before protesters began gathering for the rally after marching through Trafalgar Square from the famous Hyde Park.

Inspired by the "baby Trump blimp" depicting the US president as a screaming baby, it portrayed the Conservative frontrunner wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a bus featuring the £350m figure.

The image was a reference to Johnson's infamous claim about EU funds that would be redirected to the UK's National Health Service (NHS) after Brexit, which critics said was a misuse of statistics.

As the march set off from Park Lane to chants of "Revoke, remain; Brexit is a shame," a nine-feet "puppet master" Nigel Farage on stilts emerged, pulling the strings on two papier-mache figures of Johnson and Hunt.

"The Brexit Party is taking a lot of votes away from the Conservative Party at the moment, and the Conservatives are having to look and sound as much like the Brexit Party as possible," Naomi Smith, CEO of Best for Britain campaign behind the puppet stunt, told Al Jazeera.

The Brexit Party was founded by former UKIP leader and Brexit architect Nigel Farage just before the European elections in May.

The party quickly shot up in the polls after the UK's exit from the EU was pushed back from its original March deadline. It went on the win the European polls in the UK with more than 30 percent of the vote. The Conservatives came fifth behind the Greens.