A man who said he organised the “White Lives Matter Burnley” stunt, in which an aircraft towed a banner bearing the words over a Premier League match on Monday, said police have offered him protection. Jake Hepple, a Burnley supporter who has been pictured alongside the former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, said 60 people had contributed towards the banner and the hire of the plane, which cost £600 in total. He told the Daily Mail he had driven to Manchester on Monday with two friends to film the aircraft as it flew over the Etihad stadium shortly after players from Manchester City and Burnley had taken the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. “I stand by this banner and what it says 100%. I’m not sorry at all and I’m not ashamed of what I’ve done,” he said. Hepple, 24, insisted he was not a racist, saying: “I know people are trying to make [me] out to be one but I’m not. I’ve got lots of black and Asian friends and this banner was actually inspired by the Black Lives Movement. We were not trying to offend the movement or black people. I believe that it’s also important to acknowledge that white lives matter, too. That’s all we were trying to say.” Hepple said that he had been visited by police officers on Tuesday, who told him that he had not committed any crime and offered him protection in case anyone tried to target him. A spokesperson for Lancashire constabulary said it could not comment. On Tuesday the force said that after assessing all the information available, it had concluded “that there are no criminal offences that have been disclosed at this time”. Earlier, a senior officer had said that the stunt had “caused offence to many people in Lancashire and beyond”. Separately, a company in Burnley said it had sacked Hepple’s girlfriend, Megan Rambadt, who had been accused of posting racist material on a social media channel. Solace Foot Health and Reflexology, whose directors included Jake Hepple’s mother, said on Twitter that it had been brought to its attention that one of its employees had been “publicly posting and tweeting comments of an abhorrently racist nature”. It later named Rambadt and said it had offered her racial sensitivity training, but after a number of conversations it had been decided to end her employment. Rambadt’s Twitter account has now been deleted. Her mother told the Daily Mail her daughter did not write the posts. Meanwhile, Burnley FC will demonstrate further opposition to the “White Lives Matter” banner flown over the Etihad stadium when they resume their campaign at home against Watford on Thursday. Discussions were held on Tuesday at the club over reiterating condemnation of the banner, and support for the Black Lives Matter movement, at the Watford game. Although details have yet to be confirmed, it is understood Burnley will project their “One Club For All” message inside the stadium with support from Sean Dyche’s squad.