Police investigating after alleged criminal damage and harassment
18:11, 06 Sep 2025Updated 19:36, 06 Sep 2025
Kevin Houten outside his home with his England flag
A homeowner who says the St George’s flag outside his home has been torn down SIX times has insisted he is not a racist, adding his actions are politically motivated.
Kevin Houten, from Longsight, is flying the English flag because he has had enough of Keir Starmer’s government.
But he told the Manchester Evening News police have been forced to intervene after it was torn down six times in just six days.
Kevin, who lives at the property with his wife and two children, said: “I put the flag up on Sunday and it was pulled down on Monday. I put it back up and it was pulled down Tuesday then every day this week as I put it back up.
“It was just attached to the lamppost right outside my front door. My purpose for putting it up has nothing to do with race, it is a political protest against the way the government is running the country at the moment.
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Kevin says he has tried to reason with the culprit
“I have issues with immigration, but the gentleman who has pulled it down, I tried to have an intellectual conversation with him but it was not possible.
“Another reason for the flag is that I don’t agree with the government supporting a regime that is bombing Palestine. It has nothing to do with race, it is just my views.
“These are my political opinions. I have tried to have a conversation with the man, and so has my wife, and he just keeps calling us racist.”
Kevin says he has video evidence of every time the flag has been ripped down. Police visited his home today (September 6) in response to his complaints.
“I have got the flag up again. There is no reason why I can’t fly it. I don’t understand the mentality of some people – they are just very narrow minded.
One of Kevin Houten’s ripped England flags
“The police have said they can do an out of court disposal. I have checked up on that and it could be a warning or a fine.
“It is not just criminal damage now it is harassment because he keeps doing it. I have bought a few flags because he keeps ripping them as he takes them down. At the end of the day I am not doing anything wrong.
“I am putting the flag up because I am proud to be British and I am ashamed at what the government is doing.”
Asked who he would vote for if there were a General Election tomorrow, he said: “At this moment in time, nobody. I don’t trust Nigel Farage.”