St George's flags on the nation's streets are causing 'division and fear' - police chief says

Emily Spurrell, chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), described the trend as "sowing fear" and also hit out at the Government's asylum plans.

The surge in St George's crosses and Union Jacks flags being hung on lamp posts, bridges and street signs, began in the summer as part of Operation Raise the Colours.

Ms Spurrell told a summit of police chiefs and crime commissioners that the display of flags was part of a "disturbing" trend in rising hate-fuelled rhetoric and deliberate misinformation about immigration and asylum seekers.

Read more: Policing minister ‘admits’ decision to scrap PCCs was ‘rushed and poorly handled’

Read more: St George’s flags create ‘no-go zones’ with NHS staff reporting frequent abuse during home visits

She said: "Flags are an expression of our identity and proudly fly outside our police buildings. But when they are used to provoke fear or assert dominance, they become tools of division.

"That is not free expression, that is intimidation. These actions are sowing fear, fuelling division and leaving our neighbours, our colleagues and our friends, feeling unsafe in their homes and afraid to walk down the street.

"These actions do not reflect the values of our country – compassion, fairness and respect are the values that bind us together.

"We've heard this week some of the plans the Home Secretary has to overhaul the [asylum] system. Change must not come at the cost of compassion."

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a host of changes to the current immigration system on Monday.

Among the changes, asylum seekers will be returned home if their country is deemed safe and will have to wait 20 years in the UK before they can apply to settle permanently.

Deportations after claims are rejected will also be sped up, while visas for nationals from Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo will not be granted if their governments do not increase cooperation with the UK's attempts to deport their citizens.

When asked about Ms Mahmood's plans, Ms Spurrell said: "We need to deal with our borders, we need to have a system that works for our communities, but it needs to be rooted in compassion.

"It needs to be one that isn't focused on demonising communities."

She also pointed out that most of the perpetrators of violence against women and girls were British white men, not asylum seekers

"Let's be clear, to couch anti-immigration rhetoric in the language of protecting women and girls is not only misleading, it is offensive," she added.

"The threat to women and girls is a national emergency but it is not one that has been imported. It comes from within our communities, our homes and, too often, from those who should be there to love and protect us."

National Police Chiefs Council, Gavin Stephens, said on Tuesday he too was concerned about divisions in society, but he described the display of flags as an issue for local communities, adding: "It is not for us to police flags."