UK flag-raising group leader arrested on suspicion of causing ‘alarm and distress’ | UK news
The leader of the flag campaign group was arrested on suspicion of causing religiously and racially aggravated harassment.
Ryan Bridge is the co-founder of Raise the Colours, which has displayed hundreds of union and Saint George flags across the UK and has faced criticism for spreading anti-immigrant rhetoric. He was arrested on Tuesday and released on police bail the next day.
Recently the Raise the Colors group released several videos of its members raising flags in Oxfordshire. On Monday, Oxfordshire county council issued a legal notice banning the group from displaying the flag, arguing it was an “act of intimidation and division”.
In a video posted on Facebook after his release, Bridge said: “I was taken out for 18 and a half hours for Public Order 5, which caused people to be alarmed and distressed. “The world has gone crazy.
“Me hoisting the flag in my country is causing alarm and distress in some sections of the population. It’s an absolute disgrace… We have to march, we have to keep fighting. We have a fight ahead of us.”
He said bail conditions included a ban on visiting Oxfordshire.
Thames Valley police confirmed the arrest of a 44-year-old man from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, at around 8.40pm on Tuesday.
In a statement, police said: “Last week Thames Valley police launched an investigation following reports of incidents of disorderly conduct on Abingdon Road in Oxford.
“Officers are investigating these public order offenses and arrested a 44-year-old man from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on suspicion of causing racially and religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress. He has been released on police bail.”
Oxfordshire county council issued a formal legal notice to Raise the Colors on Monday to “cease certain activity” in response to the group’s “continued installation of flags in Oxfordshire”.
The council’s leader, Liberal Democrat councilor Liz Leffman, said the “scale and persistence of this activity is impacting communities across Oxfordshire” and that residents were left feeling “distressed, unwelcome and unsafe”.
“Raise the Colors’ large-scale flag planting is not a sign of patriotism. It is an act of intimidation and divisiveness that has a real and damaging impact on our communities,” Leffman said.
“Our crews who removed the flags were subjected to harassment and threatening behavior, with residents challenging those wearing the flags. This is completely unacceptable.”
The council said it would consider all options, including civil and criminal action, if the group did not comply with the letter.
Raise the Colors has been contacted for comment.
