Richard Bacon sparks fury by claiming if you fly a Union Jack flag ‘you’d prefer Britain to be more white’

Former BBC presenter Richard Bacon has slammed Britons flying Union Jack flags in the streets, claiming those doing so would ‘rather Britain be whiter’.

Bacon, who was previously a Blue Peter presenter and later a BBC Radio 5 Live presenter, spoke out following comments from ‘champagne socialist’ football pundit Gary Neville.

There was controversy after Neville lashed out at ‘angry middle-aged men’ who were displaying Union flags in the streets and revealed he had torn up a flag himself.

This month Nevillenth filmed and shared online a complaint about Britons installing St George’s and Union Jack flags on lampposts as part of the latest campaign known as ‘Operation Raise the Colours’.

Opposition to the display of Union Jack flags is also backed by broadcaster Bacon, 49, speaking on BBC2’s Newsnight programme.

Bacon, who moved to the United States in 2016, approved the use of the Union Jack flag design in the 1990s; The then-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, now Geri Horner, also wore a dress emblazoned with this flag.

But it contrasted with the recent push to fly the Union Jack and St George flags on British streets; Some local officials took down these flags in response, sparking new criticism.

Bacon told Newsnight: ‘There were times in the late nineties when it was nice and celebratory for Geri Halliwell to wear Union Jack trousers; It was all fun and playful.

Former England and Manchester United footballer Gary Neville posted a video online this month criticizing ‘angry middle-aged men’ hanging Union flags on the streets.

‘Right now, if you put a pole and a Union Jack in front of your house tomorrow, I think you would be making a statement.

‘I guess that means you’d probably prefer Britain to be whiter.’

The response was met with outrage and aggrieved posters challenging any claims of racism.

Bacon doubled down on his stance by sharing a clip from the Newsnight broadcast with his 1.1 million followers on X, adding the comment: ‘I agree.’

His appearance on Newsnight came as he sat next to former Brexit Party MP Alex Phillips, who challenged Bacon’s stance.

He said: ‘The context is chosen and invented by politicians; That’s the problem.

‘The myth that the flag is somehow racist, the idea that nationalism is somehow toxic, has been imposed on society and is not very welcoming to the ordinary person.

‘I don’t think it’s ethnic or nationalist, I don’t think skin color has anything to do with it.

Richard Bacon, now 49, presented Blue Peter between February 1997 and October 1998.

‘Do I think this is nationalist? Yes. Do I think that being proud of your nation and identifying with your nation is a negative thing? NO.’

Bacon replied: ‘I don’t think so either. I’m not saying it’s always like this; I’m just saying that at certain times, when it’s a very hot topic, I think you can make a statement in that context.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Bacon’s representatives for further comment.

There were many responses online to his words.

One poster replied: ‘To fly the nation’s flag? I mean, I’m Welsh and Irish, so I despise that flag, but people should absolutely be allowed to fly it as patriots and not as racists.’

Another said: ‘The British public definitely disagree with you’ and was asked: ‘So? What kind of logic is this? ‘I have a Union Jack on my desk because it is my national flag.’

A separate commenter on X, formerly Twitter, said: ‘When people start feeling ashamed of their own country’s flag, it’s a sign that those trying to undermine national pride are making an impact.

‘Luckily most of us are still proud to fly it. ‘My wife, who is of Indian descent but was born in Manchester, wants us to hang ours.’

Union and St George flags have been raised on streets across the country as part of a campaign called ‘Operation Raise the Colours’. Pictured are flags in Salford.

Another replied: ‘Anyone who flies the Union flag does so because they are proud to be British. Don’t you understand the difference between nationality and ethnicity?’

The outrage came after Neville directed his anger at those flying the country’s flag 24 hours after the murder of two Jewish Yom Kippur worshipers at a Manchester synagogue.

In a video shared on LinkedIn on Friday last week, Neville said: ‘I was driving home last night thinking we were all enemies.

‘And the division that has been created is absolutely disgusting; ‘mostly created by angry, middle-aged white men who know exactly what they’re doing.’

League Two co-owner Salford City, who has built a sprawling property empire in Manchester since retiring from football, has told how he ‘immediately’ took down a Union Jack flag flying near one of his building sites.

His comments follow the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation tragedy, in which Syrian-born terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie launched a deadly knife and car attack.

Neville began his video by saying: ‘I see last night’s news and this morning’s news dominated by horrific attacks within the Jewish community, just a mile from here.’

He then turned his attention to raising the flags, a movement called ‘Operation Raise the Colours’.

An anti-Gary Neville banner was displayed outside the Hotel Football initiative in Manchester

The ‘Operation Raise the Colors’ movement was co-founded by Andrew Currien, also known as Andy Saxon.

Mr Saxon, who has alleged links to the English Defense League and Britain First, is an ally of Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

The campaign also accepted a flag donation from Britain First, which has rejected repeated accusations that it is a far-right and fascist organisation.

Neville continued: ‘I saw probably 50 or 60 Union Jack flags as I was going down Littleton Road on my way to Salford City last night.

‘And on my way back I went down Bury New Road, the parallel road that has the Jewish community right at its heart, and they are out on the streets, defiantly, without hiding or afraid.

‘Funny enough, last week a Union Jack flag was erected on one of my development sites and I took it down immediately.’

Among those who criticized his latest comments on flags was Reform UK MP Lee Anderson, who described Neville as ‘completely clueless’.

The former Labor councilor and former Conservative MP added: ‘I believe in freedom of speech but in this case just shut up.’

He told the former footballer: ‘You had no problem playing in front of the England flag – and the middle-aged English men you speak of are the same type of men as the men who pay your wages.’

Award-winning charity boss Nick Buckley, who was sacked for criticizing Black Lives Matter, wrote of X: ‘Gary is a complete asshole. A Champagne [sic] socialist who appears to hate his country and citizens through brainwashing.’

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, mayor of Reform UK’s Greater Lincolnshire, called Neville ‘Gary Lineker Mark Two’; this was a reference to the former England captain and former Match of the Day presenter, who has faced a right-wing backlash for his political interventions.

But Neville is backed by a government minister, with faith and communities minister Miatta Fahnbulleh lashing out at people ‘trying to stir up tensions’.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘I really think you’re right that there are people trying to divide us at the moment.

‘We’ve seen this playbook before. Life is really hard for people in our societies. I spent a lot of time walking around our communities, talking to people; people are miserable.

‘We’ve had a decade and a half where living standards haven’t changed and people see their communities being oppressed – and you’ll see people trying to fuel division, blaming others, increasing tensions.’

Neville, who made 85 appearances for the Three Lions, including occasional captaincy, responded to taunts that he was unpatriotic: ‘I played 85 times for my country, I love my country.

‘I love Manchester and I love England, but I’ve been building in this city for 15 to 20 years and no one has put up a Union Jack flag in the last 15 to 20 years, so why do you need to put one up now?

‘It quite clearly sends the message to everyone that there is something you don’t like.

‘It is wrong for the Union Jack flag to be used in a negative way and I am a proud supporter of England, Great Britain and our country and will defend it as one of the greatest places to live anywhere in the world.

‘But I think we need to check ourselves, get back to a neutral point, because we’re being pulled left and right and we don’t need that at all.’