London council ‘tore down 80 Union Jack and St George’s flags in two days’

A London council removed nearly 80 English and British flags over a 48-hour period at the peak of the controversial ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ movement, according to a report.

The online campaign saw activists Union Jack and St George’s flags attached or painted onto lampposts, roundabouts and other public infrastructure starting in August.

Several councils took action to remove the flags, citing issues like traffic regulations, sparking a number of incidents in which staff faced abuse or assault while carrying out the orders.

Other councils – mostly made up of the 12 controlled by Reform UK – have supported the campaign, ordering staff not to remove any flags.

Tower Hamlets, in East London, has emerged as one of the movement’s most vocal opponents.

The authority disposed of 78 flags put up on August 18 and 19, when the row over the flags reached its peak, according to a Freedom of Information request by the Daily Mail.

Initially it avoided commenting on the campaign, saying the action was part of ‘routine maintenance’ to ensure public infrastructure reflects ‘policy setting out which flags are flown … and on which occasions’.

‘While we recognise people wish to express their views, we have a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure,’ officials said at the time.

But Tower Hamlets has since denounced the campaign as ‘led by far-right extremists’.

‘The raising of flags as part of an anti-immigration protest creates fear and division, especially when raised after dark by masked men,’ it said in a motion passed last week.

The motion saw councillors pledge more resources to combat ‘hate and division’.

It claims that the summer of anti-immigration protests has sparked a growing trend of ‘far-right agitators’ from organised groups ‘attempting to import division’ into the borough from elsewhere.

Critics have accused Tower Hamlets councillors of inviting accusations of hypocrisy amid claims they ‘dragged their feet’ in response to Palestine flags being put up around the borough.

A large number of the flags were hung up on lampposts and other street furniture in the months after Israel’s invasion of Gaza in October 2023.

The council refused to remove any until March 2024 because it believed ‘it could destabilise community cohesion’.

Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman then ordered the removal of the flags but said the ‘difficult’ decision was forced by ‘media attacks’.

But the Mail’s Freedom of Information request found the last of the flags were not removed until July 2024.

David Simmonds, Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, told the newspaper: ‘Tower Hamlets Council dragged their feet on taking down unlawful Palestinian flags, yet the moment people put up the flag of England or Union Jacks they send staff out to rip them down.

‘Any two-tier perception – that councils turn a blind eye to foreign political banners but crack down on our national flags – is deeply corrosive to social cohesion. Where there are laws restricting what is put up on street furniture, they should be forced equally.

‘We should never be ashamed of our own national flags.’

The raising of flags has continued to prove divisive in communities and a challenge for the Labour government.

Keir Starmer has said he is ‘encouraging of flags’, which he believes are ‘patriotic’ but sometimes used ‘for divisive purposes’.

He has argued the St George’s flag ‘represents our diverse country’ and that he would not tolerate people being “intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin’.

Grassroots supporters of the campaign have denied any motivation to do with racism or far-right politics.

Anti-racist group Hope Note Hate has uncovered evidence indicating Operation Raise the Flags was founded by a long-time Tommy Robinson ally, Andrew Currien, also known as Andy Saxon.

A former top bodyguard for the EDL, and now security chief for Britain First, he has boasted on social media of supplying thousands of flags to local groups around the UK.

A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets council said: ‘We have a policy of removing flags when they appear on council infrastructure and we apply this policy consistently to all flags.

‘That is why we have removed approximately 1,055 flags between May 2024 and August 2025. Of these 977 were Palestinian Flags and 78 were Union Jack or St George’s flags.

‘Last year, a significant number of Palestinian flags were put up which is why they were removed. Over the past two-month St George’s and Union flags were put up which is why they were removed.

‘We understand people are passionate about flags, and they can fly flags on private property. We proudly fly many flags on our Town Hall to celebrate key national days.’

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