Second council announces plans to remove St George flag from lampposts

Tower Hamlets Council joins Birmingham City Council in removing the Union and St George's flags that have been hung from lampposts as part of 'Operation Raise the Colours'.

It started with residents in Birmingham installing hundreds of flags throughout the city last week in a 'patriotic outpouring' and has since been followed by others across the country.

Birmingham City Council announced that it had removed the flags as it was upgrading streetlights to energy-efficient LED lighting.

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The authority wrote in a statement: "Placing unauthorised attachments on street furniture, particularly tall structures like lamp posts, can be dangerous.

"Lampposts are engineered for their specific purpose, and adding extra weight or stress from flags and attachments can cause them to weaken over time, potentially leading to collapse."

In response to this, residents have continued to hang the flags.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said it is up to councils to deal with the issues in their areas, but any decisions made should be "sensible".

A spokesperson said: "Flags are a vital part of celebrating our heritage and tradition.

"It is for councils to deal with specific issues in their areas, but we are clear they should make sensible decisions, taking into account the safety of their residents."

Tower Hamlets Council has since announced that it will be taking down the flags 'as soon as possible', however, this has drawn criticism when compared to its policy on the flying of the Palestinian flag.

Mayor Lutfur Rahman ordered the removal of the Palestinian flag from council buildings and lampposts in March 2024 after Jewish families said the "oppressive and intimidating" flag made them feel unwelcome.

The flags weren't taken down for months, as opposed to the calls for the immediate removal of the St George's and Union flags.

A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council told The Telegraph: "We are aware members of the public have been putting up St George’s flags on various structures.

"While we recognise people wish to express their views, we have a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure.

"Where flags are attached to council-owned infrastructure without permission, they may be removed as part of routine maintenance."

Operation Raise the Colours has received a lot of support online from right-wing figures including Tommy Robinson, David Atherton, and Sargon of Akkad.