
Warwickshire County Council flew Pride Flag 'without proper consent'
The row started when Finch requested the flag be removed after he replaced Rob Howard as the authority's leader.Ms Fogarty responded to the acting leader in an email and said the authority did not have a "formal policy" for flying flags. She suggested Finch should look for the council to vote on one if he wished to introduce it.
Reform UK previously accused the chief executive of a "coup d'etat", in a claim made by the party's head of government efficiency, Zia Yusuf.Nigel Farage, the party's leader, took to X and suggested Ms Fogarty believed she "knew better than the people" and she "should look for a new job". A spokesperson for Warwick District Council, the planning authority for Warwick, said "advertising consent" was needed to fly the Progress Flag and they did not get an application for it to be flown at the county council's headquarters, Shire Hall, in the county town."The council has not received an enforcement complaint, so there is no active enforcement investigation," they added.The Progress flag, which was flown outside the headquarters in Warwick, differs from the Rainbow flag as a result of adaptations over the years. It includes colours such as black, brown, pink, pale blue and white stripes, to represent marginalised people of colour in the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the trans community and those living with HIV/AIDS.
Reform does not have overall control of the council in Warwickshire, although it is the largest party.The group has been contacted by the BBC for their response to the authority's omitted consent application.The Progress Flag has since been removed from Shire Hall following the end of Pride Month.
Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Kate Forbes ban venue forced into a humiliating U-turn after public funds threat
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue at the centre of the Kate Forbes cancel culture row has performed a dramatic U-turn after threats to its public funding. Summerhall Arts, which was recently awarded £608,000 in grants, climbed down over an apparent ban on deputy First Minister because of her gender critical views. Bosses had claimed her appearance last week in a political talk was an 'oversight' and gave a 'guarantee' it wouldn't happen again. But after their statement was condemned by senior SNP figures, including ex First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the charity chiefs said no politician would be banned after all. Chief executive Sam Gough told the Mail: 'No one is banned from appearing on the stages. Summerhall is a collection of things in this building, including stages and venues. We have not banned anyone.' Mr Gough's uncaveated comments went further than a statement issued earlier in the day by the organisation, which put a pre-condition on future appearances. It said there would be no ban on anyone 'assuming they adhere to our zero tolerance regarding discrimination'. The damage limitation exercise followed an outcry over censorship with both the Government and arts quango Creative Scotland appearing to wash their hands of it. Ministers said they had no role in 'individual funding decisions', while Creative Scotland, which gave Summerhall £608,302 in January, claimed it had no part in 'programming decisions'. The Scottish Conservatives said both were missing the point - that taxpayers' cash was supporting an organisation that appeared to be breaking the law by stifling free speech. A condition of Summerhall's state funding that it must 'comply with all applicable laws'. Ms Forbes, a devout Christian who opposed the SNP's botched gender self-ID reforms, spoke at the venue last week. Summerhall apologised to performers just hours ahead of her appearance as it was concerned about 'the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ artists, staff and audiences by attracting those who share her 'views' and said 'we have work to do to repair the damage'. They even provided a 'designated relaxed space' or 'safe room' said to be 'terrified' of the 5ft 2in Skye MSP. The row coincided with controversies over gender critical authors being excluded from the state-backed Edinburgh Book Festival and a best-selling book of gender critical essays, The Women Who Wouldn't Wheest, being pulled from a National Library of Scotland exhibition. Finance Secretary Shona Robison called Summerhall's reaction 'unwise and unnecessary', while Ms Sturgeon said she didn't agree with cancel culture or the venue's actions. The Scottish Tories demanded Summerhall's public funding be cut for potentially discriminating against people because of their beliefs. In 2023, the Stand comedy club had to back down after trying to cancel a Fringe show by then SNP MP Joanna Cherry KC because of her gender critical views, admitting its original decision was 'unfair and constituted unlawful discrimination'. Last year Creative Scotland axed £84,555 of public funding from the live arts project Rein after a plan to include real sex acts was deemed a breach of contract. Bowing to pressure yesterday, the venue said 'no-one is banned from the Summerhall building or by Summerhall Arts' and it would 'not be banning politicians or anyone else'. It was a marked departure from its message to artists eight days earlier, which an insider downplayed as merely an 'email to performers', not an official statement. Scottish Tory equalities spokeswoman Tess White said there had been too much 'craven buck-passing' by the Government and Creative Scotland. She said: 'This latest clear-as-mud statement from Summerhall just underlines the need for SNP ministers to step in and order the venue to get its act together. 'Summerhall's shameful decision to suppress free speech didn't occur in a vacuum. 'For years the SNP have been pushing their reckless and unlawful self-ID policy on Scotland's public bodies and pandering to gender extremists. 'As a result, organisations funded by taxpayers think it's okay to silence those who have the moral courage and legal vindication to stand up for women's rights. It's totally unacceptable. 'John Swinney and Creative Scotland, which has form for financing dodgy projects, should remove funding from any group or venue that blocks legitimate free speech.' It emerged yesterday that Summerhall Arts had known since April that Ms Forbes would appear in an event run by the Herald newspaper but did not object. Just 48 hours before the event, managers raised fears about 'hate speech'. SNP Culture Secretary Angus Roberson yesterday told the Herald he was 'a strong supporter of the freedom of speech and of expression at our festivals'. He said: 'It will not be easy all of the time to please everybody. 'But I think keeping an eye on the principle of freedom of expression and the expression of different views is an established and important part of our national life.' Mr Robertson is the MSP for Edinburgh Central, which is home to many cultural organisations, and he said he does not make decisions about their funding to avoid conflicts of interest. He has specifically 'recused himself from decisions in relation to Summerhall', which are taken by employment minister Richard Lochhead instead. A Creative Scotland spokesman said: 'Creative Scotland does not play a role in the programming decisions of funded organisations.' A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Creative Scotland is an arms-length funding body and Ministers have no role in individual funding decisions.'


The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
Dozens to be prosecuted for supporting terror group Palestine Action after hundreds were arrested in protests
COPS have charged a further 60 people for supporting Palestine Action after more than 700 arrests. The group was proscribed last month after they took credit for vandalising two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, in an alleged £7million attack. 3 3 3 Palestine Action have also been linked to claims of serious assault on staff and police officers at a business in South Gloucestershire. Since proscription, it is a criminal offence to show support for the group - carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years. This comes after more than 15,000 people held a peaceful protest in London last weekend to support Palestine, where only one person was arrested. But cop s later detained 522 people who were illegally supporting Palestine Action. Five others were arrested for assaulting police officers, two for breaching public order conditions and one for racially aggravated public order. Organisers Defend Our Juries said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square, with police preparing for the "largest mass arrest in their history". It turned out to be an even higher number of arrests made by the Metropolitan Police at a single protest than the poll tax riots of 1990, when 339 people were arrested. Clusters of officers could be seen holding people sat on the edge of the grass and escorting them through crowds to police vans. One man, who appeared to be in his 50s, was arrested after he entered a large group of police holding a homemade sign reading "I support Palestine Action". He was marched away by a group of nine cops. Record number arrested at Palestine Action protest as demonstrators bring chaos to London People waving Palestinian flags and signs reading "stop the genocide" continued to gather in the main square despite the risk of arrest. Another pair of protesters holding handwritten pro-Palestine Action banners sat on the statue of Millicent Garrett Fawcett. They were later arrested and carried away by police officers. As they were carried away the crowd shouted "shame on you". Three retired doctors in scrubs lay and sat holding signs in support of the controversial group - police surrounded them and arrested a woman, carrying her away through the crowd. Another was later carried away, with officers having to fight through an angry crowd. The mass protest comes only days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group were publicly named as Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judit Murray, also 71, and Fiona Maclean, 53. Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: 'The decisions that we have announced today are the first significant numbers to come out of the recent protests, and many more can be expected in the next few weeks. We are ready to make swift decisions in all cases where arrests have been made. 'The public has a democratic right to protest peacefully in this country, and I understand the depth of feeling around the horrific scenes in Gaza. 'However, Palestine Action is now a proscribed terrorist organisation and those who have chosen to break the law will be subject to criminal proceedings under the Terrorism Act. 'When protest conduct crosses the line from lawful activity into criminality, we have a duty to enforce the law. 'People should be clear about the real-life consequences for anyone choosing to support Palestine Action. A terrorism conviction can severely impact your life and career – it can restrict your ability to travel overseas and work in certain professions. 'I urge people to think very carefully about their actions at protests. Anyone who chooses to disobey the law will have to face the consequences.' Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley added: 'I am proud of how our police and CPS teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system. If necessary, we are able to investigate and quickly charge significant numbers of people each week if people want the potentially life-changing consequences of a terrorist conviction. 'At the same time, we will continue to police the numerous protests each week where people express their views in support of Palestine without choosing to break Counter Terrorism Laws by supporting proscribed terror groups. 'To be clear, these arrests and prosecutions do not outlaw people's right to demonstrate in support of Palestine, or any other cause. They are simply the enforcement of a specific provision under the Terrorism Act in relation to a specific proscribed terrorist organisation, Palestine Action. 'Where officers see these offences, we will continue to make arrests and, as shown today, the CPS and police will work to quickly secure charges, at whatever scale is necessary.' A Home Office spokesperson said in a previous statement: "The Home Secretary has been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action is not about Palestine, nor does it affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights. "It only applies to the specific and narrow organisation whose activities do not reflect or represent the thousands of people across the country who continue to exercise their fundamental rights to protest on different issues." Consequences of Terrorism Act offences Source; Met Police •A maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment. •The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) will have a record of a person's TACT conviction, and this will be seen by employers who use DBS to carry out checks on staff or new applicants. The existence of a TACT conviction may be seen by employers as grounds for a refusal to employ a person or to dismiss them. •Universities also carry out DBS checks, and may refuse entry to courses to those with terrorism convictions. •Any application to visit another country usually requires a declaration of criminal convictions. A TACT conviction will be a potential bar to entry to countries including the US, Australia, Japan, and from 2026 when the ETIAS system is introduced, countries of the European Union. •If a person is a member of a professional body, they may face disciplinary proceedings and potentially removal from the profession.


The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
Rachel Reeves tax grab for woke training & mobiles for migrants makes my teeth itch… here's what Govt SHOULD be doing
AS I'm sure you know, you are taxed on the money you earn. And you must pay more taxes every time you buy anything or go anywhere or fill your car up with fuel or buy a pint or get your hair cut or go on an aeroplane. 5 And if by some miracle you manage to die with a few savings in the bank, they even tax your kids on those. It's your money. You earned it. You paid tax on it. And then they tax it again. It makes my teeth itch. However, for many years, you have been able to pass money on to your children, tax free, providing you live for seven years after the gift is made. But now we are hearing they're even going to tax you on that. Yup. You want to help your kids get on the property ladder. Well you can't because that infernal woman, Rachel Reeves, has decided that it'd be better if you gave your money to her instead. I seriously doubt that. Let me give you an example of the problem. Near to where I live, the local council — which gets a quarter of its cash from the Government — decided to spend £51million on a new park and ride facility next to the busy A40. It was completed last year and it's very snazzy with 850 spaces, charging points for electrical cars, and attractive spaces where commuters can shelter from the rain. Lovely. Apart from one small thing: It's not connected to the road network. Seriously, there's no way anyone can access it, so it's sitting there now, a gigantic blot on the landscape and it cannot be used for parking or riding because neither a bus, nor a car can get into it. Raising taxes will kill off growth, Reeves warned as she pledges to rip up business red tape So they have taken 51million of your pounds. And wasted them. And they are doing that sort of thing, every day, across the whole country. And now Rachel Reeves is saying she needs your money more than your children do so that she can waste it on other stupid stuff like diversity training, and pronoun days and treats for illegal immigrants, all of the net zero nonsense. I don't think Reeves is an unpleasant person. But I do think that she and Starmer and Rayner and Lammy are a bit thick. Lammy especially. 5 5 He can't even go fishing without getting into trouble. That's why they can't get it into their heads that taking our hard-earned money and wasting it is seriously annoying. And it's even more annoying when they want yet more money so they can waste that too. It's really not that difficult to get your head round what needs to be done. Don't raise taxes. Just spend less. A TURN OFF TO DRIVING ONE of my oldest friends lost his driving licence recently, having been caught speeding four times in the last three years. He sounds reckless, until I tell you that the speeds involved were 25, 26, 31 and 35. And this ridiculous attitude to people breaking idiotic 20mph limits is just the tip of the anti-car iceberg. It's now virtually impossible to get a driving test, and if by some miracle you do eventually get a licence, you won't want to buy a car because it bongs at you if you drive too quickly or stray out of lane or take your eyes off the road. I drove a Toyota recently which had a bonging paddy fit and flashed up a message saying, 'Sit up straight'. What's next? 'Clean your teeth'? So cars are annoying, you can't drive them at more than walking speed and now comes news that the drink-drive limit is being lowered to a point where you can't pop to the shops in your motor if you've had so much as a sherry trifle. Plus, unless you can see the bracelet Neil Armstrong left on the moon, your eyes aren't good enough, so you'll have to use the bus instead. Naturally, we are told this is all to save the NHS from the cost of patching up the victims of car accidents. But that's rubbish. It's the drive for net zero. They are making driving so difficult, no one will want to do it. Welcome to stadium of hate, Sophie 5 I WAS astonished to hear this week that after posting pictures of herself at an Oasis gig, the Game Of Thrones actress Sophie Turner was slammed by a follower who said she must have forgotten she's a mother. Really? So people with children aren't allowed to go out ever? Honestly, I'm beginning to realise that the world was a much nicer place when strangers weren't able to talk to each other. Social media is like a gigantic football stadium . . . where the rival fans can sit where they like. There's going to be trouble. And there is. LEONARDO DICAPRIO tells us that although he's 50, he feels 32. Yeah, but watch out, mate. I was 19 my whole life. Until I got to 65, when all of a sudden, I became 109. NO PET FOOD A ZOO in Denmark has found itself in a spot of bother after asking local people to donate their pet guinea pigs and rabbits. So they can be fed to the big cats . . . We even read this week of a little girl who donated her poorly pony. Which was turned by the zoo keepers into a lion's lunch. I should explain at this point that the animals are not being eaten alive. They are 'gently' killed before being turned into food. But I can see why everyone's getting their knickers in a twist. Because like you, I can't understand why you'd look at your little hamster whizzing round in his wheel and think, 'You know what. I'd like to feed that to a leopard.' You may say this is hypocrisy as I now spend my days farming. But I have a simple rule on the matter. I never eat anything that had a name. DEAD END ON NAME THE boy wonder Kaleb Cooper, who manages my farm, received word this week that his wife was in labour. 'Right,', he said. 'I'll be there when I've finished harvesting this field.' 5 How farmerish is that?!?! Happily, he finished in time to welcome what for him is baby number three, and then our thoughts turned to a name. One of our mates suggested it should be named after the field he was harvesting when the call came through. Nice idea, except for one small detail. The field was called 'Deadman'. Despite the interruption, we did get the harvest finished. And thanks to the drought we've had this year, it was dismal. Seriously, you could fit all the grain we ended up with in a Hoover bag. And this, after the appalling wet weather of last year, which resulted in the country's second- worst harvest on record. A lot of farmers are going to be in a proper financial mess as a result. But at least we have a government which has their back. No, wait . . .