What did Gary Neville say? Ex-England star admits tearing down Union flag from building site

Gary Neville has admitted to pulling down a Union flag from a building in Manchester.

The football pundit hit out at ‘disgusting’ division being sewn in communities, ‘mainly by angry middle-aged white men’ in the wake of the synagogue attack in Manchester.

Neville said he had left his home on Friday morning to ’50 or 60′ Union flags in north Manchester, which prompted him to speak out on social media.

‘I just kept thinking as I was driving home last night that we’re all being turned on each other.

‘The division that’s being created is absolutely disgusting. Mainly created by angry middle-aged white men who know exactly what they are doing.’

In a clip shared on LinkedIn, the ex-footballer said he had taken a Union Flag down from one of his construction sites ‘instantly’.

The former Manchester United defender was quick to highlight his patriotic credentials, having played for England 85 times, but said that flag raisers were using the nation’s colours to make a statement.

He clarified: ‘I love my country. I love Manchester. I love England. But I’ve been building in this city for 15, 20 years, and there’s no one put a Union Jack flag up, so why do you need to put one up now?

‘Quite clearly, it’s sending a message to everybody that there’s something you don’t like. ‘

The Sky Sports commentator said that the national flag was being used in a ‘negative fashion’, adding that the country was being pulled ‘right and left’.

Neville further criticised ‘idiots spreading hate speech’, saying they should stop being promoted.

He continued: ‘Brexit has had a devastating impact on this country and the message is getting extremely dangerous.

‘All these idiots that are out there, spreading hate speech, in any form and abuse in any form, we must stop promoting them.

‘It needs to stop now and get back to a country of love, of peace, of harmony and become a team again.’

Faith and communities minister Miatta Fahnbulleh hit out at people ‘trying to stoke tension’.

Asked if Neville had a point, Fahnbulleh said: ‘I think he’s really right, that there are people who are trying to divide us at the moment.”

She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘We’ve seen this playbook before. Life is really tough for people across our communities.

‘I spent a lot of time going around our communities, talking to people. People are ground down.

‘We’ve had a decade-and-a-half in which living standards haven’t budged and people have seen their communities held down.

‘And you will get people trying to stoke division, trying to blame others, trying to stoke tension.’

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