Another council vows to remove England flags from lampposts | UK | News
Flags installed on lampposts will be removed without permission, a council leader has promised. Union and St George’s Cross flags have been flown across the UK in recent months as part of an online campaign called Operation Raise the Colours, and more recently as a show of support for the UK. world cup.
However, flying the flags became controversial after some local officials removed them from the public. infrastructure. Cambridgeshire County Council leader Lucy Nethsingha said some people might like to hang flags on their property or car, but it was inappropriate to attach them to lampposts.
he said BBC Hanging a ladder on a lamppost is “incredibly reckless and puts lives at risk”, adding: “We will take down any flags hung without permission. We are looking at ways to prevent this in the future.”
Local Billy Crotty, who put up the flag on the A1198 last year, told the broadcaster he had stopped putting up the flag, saying the council’s approach was excessive.
Cambridgeshire is not the first local authority to take action. Legal action taken by Oxfordshire County Council led to four activists agreeing last month not to fly flags on lampposts in the county.
The council wanted to stop people raising flags near roads, which it said involved trespassing and obstruction, as well as safety risks.
Oxfordshire has argued for months that flags have been placed on or near public roads without permission, despite a formal legal notice in March and pre-suit legal letters sent to individuals last month.
Robin Green, acting for the council, said the four were Ryan Bridge, Ben Cullen, Trudy Wells and Kevin Good.
After a brief hearing on June 23, in which the group represented themselves and spoke to Mr. Good by phone, they agreed not to display any more flags, not to encourage others to do so, and not to prevent any city employee or contractor from taking them down.
Councils in Shropshire and Blackpool also removed flags, citing public safety concerns.
Operation Raise the Colors and others argue that flags flying from lampposts and other street furniture are displays of patriotism.
But others argue that flying the Union and St George’s Cross flags is a cover for xenophobia and racism.
They say flying flags this way is intended to incite and divide communities amid tensions over immigration.
