A Reform UK<\/a>-led council is taking down the display of St George\u2019s Cross<\/a> and the Union <\/a>Flag across Durham over concerns for public safety. <\/p>\n Durham <\/a>County Council said it had noticed an increased number of flags across the county that it believed were compromising public safety for both drivers and pedestrians. It said other displays, such as painted markings on the roads, roundabouts and zebra crossings, had also been noticed. <\/p>\n It has warned residents not to hang flags in areas <\/a>that may obstruct visibility for drivers or pedestrians, or in locations where they are poorly secured. <\/p>\n In a statement on Friday, the council said: \u201cWhile we understand and respect the community’s desire to express national pride, celebration, or remembrance, it is important to ensure such expressions do not compromise public safety.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday we were left with no choice but to remove bunting across a road at New Brancepeth, following a risk assessment. The rope involved was so strong that, had a high-sided vehicle driven into it, the poles it was attached to could have been pulled down.\u201d <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The council said that initially it would only be removing displays that were a hazard to the public (Yui Mok\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n The council said that, at first, it would only be removing flags or decorations that were posing a risk to the public, although it said some flags had already been taken down by third parties. <\/p>\n \u201cWe encourage residents to consider safer and more appropriate locations for flags or other displays that do not involve highway infrastructure and conform to all appropriate standards and regulations.\u201d <\/p>\n The council\u2019s decision to remove the flags comes amid a growing trend<\/a> of displaying St George\u2019s Cross and Union flags across the country. <\/p>\n It is believed to be a part of an organised effort called \u201cOperation Raise the Colours\u201d, an online movement backing far-right figures including Tommy Robinson. The movement has sparked fears that the flags could deepen division within communities<\/a>, with some fearing that an anti-immigration agenda is behind their display. As a result, councils are taking them down.<\/p>\n Birmingham City Council<\/a> and Tower Hamlets Council said they removed flags to protect council infrastructure, in line with \u201ca policy setting out which flags are flown from council buildings and on which occasions\u201d.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The Portsmouth City Council is removing the St George\u2019s Cross that was painted on its facade this week (Portsmouth City Council\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n This week, the Portsmouth Guildhall, a 19th-century landmark, was defaced by vandals who painted a St George\u2019s Cross onto its exterior<\/a>, which the council has called \u201cupsetting\u201d. <\/p>\n On Friday, Portsmouth City Council said it had a legal duty to remove any symbols painted on roads but that no action would be taken to remove flags displayed on lamp posts or other public spaces would not be taken down unless they posed a hazard.<\/p>\n A spokesperson said: \u201cThe Guildhall is a civic and cultural landmark of great importance to the city and its residents.<\/p>\n \u201cDamaging it is upsetting, unlawful and costly to repair. Although the painting has been removed, there is still visible damage.\u201d <\/p>\n Also on Friday, Essex police <\/a>said they were looking for two men after St George’s crosses and the words “this is England” <\/a>were painted on an Islamic centre building the night before. Gavin Callaghan, the Labour leader of Basildon Council, posted photos of the vandalism on X, saying the damage was “a disgrace”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-385264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-northern-ireland","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115118195581632486","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Migrant-accommodation-xfh0p9j0.jpeg\")
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