KEMI Badenoch has said it is “shameful” of councils to remove St George’s Cross flags, as she claimed local rules were being enforced “selectively”.
Flags have been taken down by a number of local authorities this week, including Tower Hamlets in east London as well as Birmingham, after campaigners attached them following an online movement called “Operation Raise the Colours”.
PAConservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has blasted ‘shameful’ councils for removing flags[/caption]
PAMs Badenoch said flying flags of any country should be welcomed[/caption]
ReutersA Union Jack flag and England’s flag of St. George hang from a pedestrain bridge in Radcliffe, near Manchester, on Friday[/caption]
It comes as protests against migrant hotels broke out at 10 locations across the UK yesterday – with more planned today.
Cities across the country are bracing for chaos over the bank holiday weekend, with police forces being mobilised across Britain.
Demonstrations kicked off in Leicester and Portsmouth on Friday, with an estimated 27 protests expected across the UK over the bank holiday weekend.
Protests also appeared outside hotels in Leeds, Cardiff, Chichester, Orpington, and four other locations as the long weekend started.
Attendees waved Union flags and held placards which call for an end to the controversial hotel policy.
Flag removals
On Monday, St George’s cross flags were pictured on the A1206 on the Isle of Dogs in the east of the capital, while BirminghamLive also reported flags that have been flown in areas of the city have been removed by the local council.
Writing in the Daily Mail, the Conservative leader said the flying of English flags should be “welcomed”, rather than “seen as an act of rebellion”.
“After years of politicisation by those who seek to diminish England‘s culture and Christian heritage, it is encouraging to see English flags flown proudly as symbols of unity, nationhood and optimism,” she said.
“So, it is shameful that some councils have scrambled to remove them at the first opportunity, even in the lead-up to VJ Day, while leaving banners of other nations and political causes untouched.
“This is not about by-laws or policy. Councils will say they are enforcing local rules, but the point is they apply those rules selectively.”
Ms Badenoch points to the hesitation of some councils to “address the widespread appearance of Palestinian flags” as an example of “those using power to push a sectarian agenda”.
She continued: “Suppressing the English flag does not stop division. It fuels it.
“If more councils embraced our shared national identity instead of fearing it, we would not be in a position where flying our own flag is seen as an act of rebellion.”
Earlier this week, Downing Street said the Prime Minister is “absolutely” supportive of people who put up English flags.
Sir Keir Starmer‘s official spokesman said: “I think the PM has always talked about his pride of being British, the patriotism he feels.
“I think he’s talked about that previously […] not least recently in relation to the Lionesses’ successful campaign in the Euros.
“Patriotism will always be an important thing to him.
“We put up English flags all around Downing Street every time the English football team – women’s and men’s – are out trying to win games for us.”
Tower Hamlets Council said it has a “policy setting out which flags are flown from council buildings and on which occasions”.
Anti-migrant protests across the UK on August 22
Protests against the use of migrant hotels have broken out in several major UK cities.
The wave of demonstrations follows the landmark ruling in favour of removing migrants from The Bell Hotel in Epping.
A total of ten hotels now have protestors surrounding them, with police standing by at many of them.
Counter protestors have also been spotted, holding signs which urge Brits to “say no to racism”.
The ten hotels with demonstrations surrounding them are located in:
Orpington
Leeds
Rhoose
Chichester
Bournemouth
Altrincham
Cheshunt
Ashford
Leicester
Broxbourne
Several protests are being planned for Saturday too, under the Abolish Asylum System slogan.
Those protests will be held in:
Bristol
Exeter
Tamworth
Cannock
Nuneaton
Liverpool
Wakefield
Newcastle
Horley in Surrey
Canary Wharf, central London
Other protests being planned for Saturday will be held in:
Aberdeen and Perth in Scotland
Mold in Flintshire, Wales
Anti-racism campaigners have pledged to hold peaceful counter-protests as part of the Stand Up to Racism campaign.
Their demonstrations will be held in:
Bristol
Cannock
Leicester
Liverpool
Newcastle
Wakefield
Horley
Long Eaton, Derbyshire
In a statement, the council added: “We are aware members of the public have been putting up St George flags on various structures.
“While we recognise people wish to express their views, we have a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure.
“Where flags are attached to council-owned infrastructure without permission, they may be removed as part of routine maintenance.”
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “We proudly fly the Union flag outside the Council House every day and recognise the importance of the Union flag and flag of St George as symbols of national pride.
“Brummies are proud to be British and proud that this is a welcoming city celebrating many different cultures.
“When it comes to items attached to lamp posts, it is normal council procedure for these to be removed on a regular basis, in line with our health and safety obligations.
“As has always been the case, people are free to fly or hang flags from their homes or gardens, but we ask that they are not attached to street furniture.”
Migrant protest plans
Many of the protests planned for Saturday will use the “Abolish Asylum System” slogan, with further demonstrations being planned in Canary Wharf, Liverpool, Newcastle, Exeter, Tamworth, Wakefield and Bristol.
The Metropolitan Police force is preparing for the protests to break out in London, on the same weekend as the iconic Notting Hill Carnival.
The issue has proven divisive within UK politics, as the Home Office has appealed against the High Court ruling ordering The Bell Hotel to remove the migrants.
Meanwhile, Labour MP Steve Yemm is calling for the Government to look for different approaches to managing the UK border.
One idea suggested bears some similarity to the now-scrapped Rwanda plan.
Mr Yemm said: “Labour must focus on innovative solutions like return hubs overseas and new bilateral agreements.
“Under those agreements, every small boat arrival would be sent not to a UK hotel but to a third country where they would stay even if their claim was upheld.
“If all 900 arrivals were deported on a Monday, and all 700 on the Tuesday, then how many might arrive on the Friday?
“Probably, we would see a US style collapse in numbers.”
Controversy has surrounded the asylum hotel scheme since a migrant housed at The Bell Hotel in Epping was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl – which he denies.
However, the High Court ruled that housing migrants at the site broke planning permission and forced the hotel to remove them.
Ms Badenoch has ordered 33 Conservative councils to push for an end to the policy – despite the number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels soaring while her party was in government.
In her message to Tory councils, Ms Badenoch said: “The Epping Hotel injunction is a victory for local people led by a good Conservative council working hard for their community. This is the difference.
“I’m encouraging Conservative council leaders to take the same steps if your legal advice supports it.”
The High Court judgement explained
HIGH Court Judge Mr Justice Eyre has ruled that the owners of The Bell Hotel – Somani Hotels Limited – might have breached planning rules by housing migrants at the site, rather than paying customers.
After a hearing in London’s High Court last week, Mr Justice Eyre said Somani Hotels Limited had “sidestepped the public scrutiny and explanation” by not applying for planning permission for the migrant hotel.
In his judgement, he said that while the council had not “definitively established” that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, “the strength of the claimant’s case is such that it weighs in favour” of granting the injunction.
He said the fear of crime being committed by those accommodated there was a “relevant factor”, albeit one with “limited weight”.
In his judgement, he said it is “understandable” that recent arrests “form a basis for the local concern”.
He added: “The arrests have occurred in a relatively short period and have arisen when no more than 138 asylum seekers are accommodated in the Bell at any time.
“The consequence is that the fear said to be felt by local residents cannot be dismissed as solely speculation based on fear of what might happen from an activity which has not yet begun.”
The judge also said that had the hotel owners, Somani Hotels Limited, applied for planning permission, it would have given Epping Forest District Council and local residents a chance to air their concerns.
Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, said the situation was “wholly unacceptable” and provided a “feeding ground for unrest”.
He said: “There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers.”
Mr Coppel continued: “It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully.
“It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used to house asylum seekers.”
He added: “It really could not be much worse than this.”
The judge granted a temporary injunction in his ruling, meaning the hotel has to be cleared of its occupants by September 12.
Shutterstock EditorialAn English flag is tied to a lamp post in Clerkenwell[/caption]
ReutersCouncils in some parts of the country have removed English flags[/caption]
EPAA counter protestor holds up the flag of St George outside the TLK Apartments Hotel housing asylum seekers during a demonstration against the far-right in Orpington[/caption]
ReutersProtestors bearing flags during a protest on Friday[/caption]
PAProtestors were out in force in Kent, Leeds and Cardiff[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
