![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_263637560-2643.jpg\")
\n\t\tOne of a wave of St George\u2019s flags hung up around Tower Hamlets during the \u2018Operation Raise the Colours\u2019 campaign (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tOne of a wave of St George\u2019s flags hung up around Tower Hamlets during the \u2018Operation Raise the Colours\u2019 campaign (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n
A London<\/a> council removed nearly 80 English and British flags over a 48-hour period at the peak of the controversial \u2018Operation Raise the Colours\u2019 movement, according to a report.<\/p>\n The online campaign saw activists Union Jack and St George\u2019s flags attached or painted onto lampposts, roundabouts and other public infrastructure starting in August.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Other councils \u2013 mostly made up of the 12 controlled by Reform UK \u2013 have supported the campaign, ordering staff not to remove any flags. <\/p>\n Tower Hamlets, in East London, has emerged as one of the movement\u2019s most vocal opponents.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \t\t Initially it avoided commenting on the campaign, saying the action was part of \u2018routine maintenance\u2019 to ensure public infrastructure reflects \u2018policy setting out which flags are flown \u2026 and on which occasions\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018While we recognise people wish to express their views, we have a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure,\u2019 officials said at the time.<\/p>\n But Tower Hamlets has since denounced the campaign as \u2018led by far-right extremists\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018The raising of flags as part of an anti-immigration protest creates fear and division, especially when raised after dark by masked men,\u2019 it said in a motion passed last week.<\/p>\n The motion saw councillors pledge more resources to combat \u2018hate and division\u2019.<\/p>\n It claims that the summer of anti-immigration protests has sparked a growing trend of \u2018far-right agitators\u2019 from organised groups \u2018attempting to import division\u2019 into the borough from elsewhere.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tLatest London news\t\t\t<\/p>\n To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro’s<\/strong> London news hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t Critics have accused Tower Hamlets councillors of inviting accusations of hypocrisy amid claims they \u2018dragged their feet\u2019 in response to Palestine<\/a> flags being put up around the borough.<\/p>\n A large number of the flags were hung up on lampposts and other street furniture in the months after Israel<\/a>\u2019s invasion of Gaza<\/a> in October 2023.<\/p>\n The council refused to remove any until March 2024 because it believed \u2018it could destabilise community cohesion\u2019.<\/p>\n Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman then ordered the removal of the flags but said the \u2018difficult\u2019 decision was forced by \u2018media attacks\u2019. <\/p>\n But the Mail\u2019s Freedom of Information request found the last of the flags were not removed until July 2024.<\/p>\n \t\t David Simmonds, Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, told the newspaper: \u2018Tower 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.<\/p>\n \u2018Any two-tier perception \u2013 that councils turn a blind eye to foreign political banners but crack down on our national flags \u2013 is deeply corrosive to social cohesion. Where there are laws restricting what is put up on street furniture, they should be forced equally.<\/p>\n \u2018We should never be ashamed of our own national flags.\u2019<\/p>\n The raising of flags has continued to prove divisive in communities<\/a> and a challenge for the Labour government<\/a>.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer has said he is \u2018encouraging of flags\u2019, which he believes are \u2018patriotic\u2019 but sometimes used \u2018for divisive purposes\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t He has argued the St George\u2019s flag \u2018represents our diverse country\u2019 and that he would not tolerate people being \u201cintimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin\u2019.<\/p>\n Grassroots supporters of the campaign have denied any motivation to do with racism<\/a> or far-right politics.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A former top bodyguard for the EDL, and now security chief for Britain First, he has boasted on social media<\/a> of supplying thousands of flags to local groups around the UK.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets council said: \u2018We have a policy of removing flags when they appear on council infrastructure and we apply this policy consistently to all flags.<\/p>\n \u2018That 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\u2019s flags.<\/p>\n \u2018Last year, a significant number of Palestinian flags were put up which is why they were removed. Over the past two-month St George\u2019s and Union flags were put up which is why they were removed.<\/p>\n \u2018We 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.\u2019<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_263637713-d2d3.jpg\")
\n\t\tFlags were painted on road crossings as well as hung up on street furniture (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_263637809-6524.jpg\")
\n\t\tCritics said the flags were intended to intimidate people from minority backgrounds (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_198514382-cb41.jpg\")
\n\t\tTower Hamlets has been accused of \u2018dragging its feet\u2019 by taking months to remove Palestine flags hung on street furniture (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Tommy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_270207984-4611.jpg\")
\n\t\tOperation Raise the Flags has been linked to an ally of Tommy Robinson (Picture: PA)<\/p>\n
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