Fury as new Reform-run council orders Ukrainian flag to be TAKEN DOWN as it bans banners for 'special interest groups' from public buildings
A Reform-run council is facing fury today after its leader ordered the Ukrainian flag be removed from its headquarters.
Nigel Farage 's party took over control of Kent County Council on May 1 and its leader this morning ordered a ban on banners from 'special interest groups'.
Linden Kemkaran also banned the authority from flying the Pride flag later this year, telling the AGM in Maidstone: 'The Union Jack, the flag of St George and the flag of Kent, they are the identity that we all share and it is that identity that we need to focus on.'
To applause form her supporters she told the chamber her new administration had little time for 'special interest groups' or the flags that represent them.
Her words were met with raucous applause and table thumping from the Reform benches, likened to a 'political rally' by the council's opposition leader, Liberal Democrat Antony Hook.
Reform's chairman Zia Yusuf revealed plans after its election wins in 10 council areas that the party's leadership would not allow the Ukrainian flag to be flown, despite it being a fixture across the UK since the 2022 invasion by Vladimir Putin 's Russia.
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: 'We know the only flag most Reform politicians want to fly is the Russian flag and these plastic patriots are proving to be everything that we thought they were.
'A bunch of Putin apologists who would rather tear down the symbols of brave Ukrainians fighting for freedom than stand with them.'
At the beginning of May, Reform swept to a local elections victory in Kent taking 57 of 81 council seats, wiping out a Conservative majority which had stood for almost 30 years.
Ms Kemkaran also told the chamber she was looking to create a department of government efficiency (Doge) to root out problems in the council.
Opposition leader Mr Hook voiced fears that the Reform administration would be taking instructions from the national leaders of Reform UK.
Outside the chamber, he said: 'It was really shocking to me that in a recent podcast the leader of Reform said that she had to sort of take instructions from Reform's national chairman.
'That's the sort of thing we've never heard at Kent County Council before. Under different administrations it's always been clear that policy is made in Kent by county councillors not taking instructions from national parties.'
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