Flags raised by patriotism campaigners removed by London council
Tower Hamlets in east London said it would take down the St George's flags 'as soon as possible' after they were put up in recent days as part of the 'Operation Raise the Colours' patriotism campaign that has been gathering momentum online.
It come days after Birmingham council ordered the removal of hundreds of Union and St George's flags flying from street lampposts in the city, which were raised in the past fortnight in a 'patriotic outpouring'.
The Labour-run authority claimed the flags put the lives of pedestrians and motorists 'at risk' despite being up to 25ft off the ground.
But Lee Anderson, the Reform UK MP, was furious, telling The Telegraph: 'This is nothing short of a disgrace and shows utter contempt for the British people.'
British or English flags have been raised on streets across England including in Swindon, Bradford, Newcastle and Norwich.
Now Tower Hamlets council, which is run by the pro-Gaza Aspire Party, has confirmed it will remove any St George flags from council property including lampposts 'as soon as possible'.
A spokesman 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.'
Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets, ordered the removal of Palestine flags from council buildings and lampposts in March 2024 after Jewish families said the 'oppressive and intimidating' symbols made them feel unwelcome in the borough for the first time.
Critics accused the council of 'two-tier bias' because the Palestine flags were not taken down for months after popping up in the aftermath of the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, accused Tower Hamlets council of 'absurd national loathing'.
He told The Telegraph: 'Tower Hamlets council have allowed Palestinian flags to be publicly displayed on lampposts but not the flag of our country.
'This absurd national self-loathing must end. This is yet more two-tier bias against the British people. We must be one country united under the Union flag.'
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, asked: 'Why would we leave [Palestinian flags] up and take down flags that represent one of the countries of the UK?'
Critics pointed out that Palestinian flags have flown elsewhere on the streets of the city, where 29.9 per cent of residents are Muslim, since the war in Gaza began in 2023.
Suella Braverman, a former home secretary, said our national flags 'are a great source of pride and patriotism', adding that 'they should be flown from as many places as possible as often as possible'.
Government guidance first published in 2021 states: 'Flags are a very British way of expressing joy and pride.'
It goes on to say that: 'The Government wants to see more flags flown, particularly the Union flag.'
The guidance warns however that flags must not 'obscure, or hinder the interpretation of official road, rail, waterway or aircraft signs, or otherwise make hazardous the use of these types of transport'.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
7 European leaders to join Zelensky in White House meeting Monday
Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Seven European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday in a bid to end the war against Russia. Zelensky and Trump announced the meeting on Saturday. On Sunday, it was disclosed they will be joined by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Macron, after appearing in a video conference with several European leader, said Sunday that "our goal for tomorrow's talks is to present a united front between Ukraine and its European allies" and warned "if we show weakness today in front of Russia, we are laying the ground for future conflict." Zelensky last saw Trump in the White House on Feb. 23. During the contentious meeting, Trump accused Zelensky of "gambling with World War III" and being "disrespectful" to the United States. Plans for a cease-fire and a news conference were called off. Two months later, the two leaders met amicably when they went to the funeral for Pope Franic at the Vatican on April 26. Zelensky and von der Leyen met in Brussel, Belgium, on Sunday, joining a "coalition of willing," who are Ukraine's main European allies, in a video conference. "There is a strong consensus among the Coalition countries on the need to continue supporting Ukraine," Finland's Stubb posted on X. "Europe and the United States are further strengthening their common position." The EU's Costa said after the video meeting that "transatlantic unity is paramount at this moment" for a lasting peace in Ukraine in welcoming the U.S. willingness to seek security guarantees to Ukraine. European leaders on Saturday signed a joint statement that, "as President Trump said, 'there's no deal until there's a deal.' As envisioned by President Trump, the next step must now be further talks, including President Zelenskyy, whom he will meet soon." In addition to the attendees of Monday's meeting in Washington, the statement was signed by European Council President Antonio Costa and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The leaders of the Nordic-Baltic Eight -- Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden -- said in a statement that there should be "no decisions on Ukraine without Ukraine and no decisions on Europe without Europe." Trump posted Sunday morning on Truth Social "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED." Minutes earlier, he also criticized the media in two posts, writing that "if I got Russia to give up Moscow as part of the Deal, the Fake News, and their PARTNER, the Radical Left Democrats, would say I made a terrible mistake and a very bad deal. That's why they are the FAKE NEWS! Also, they should talk about the 6 WARS, etc., I JUST STOPPED!!! MAGA." Earlier, he wrote that "it's incredible how the Fake News violently distorts the TRUTH when it comes to me. There is NOTHING I can say or do that would lead them to write or report honestly about me. I had a great meeting in Alaska on Biden's stupid War, a war that should have never happened!!!" It had been more than 24 hours since he posted about the war in Ukraine. After speaking with Zelensky and European leaders following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska, he wrote that "it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up." This stance shifted to an end to the 3 1/2-year-old war that began with Russia's invasion of the sovereign nation. Zelensky was not invited to the summit with the two leaders. CNN reported Trump told the Europeans he wants a summit among himself, Putin and Zelensky on Friday if talks go well on Monday with Ukraine's leader. While many nations' leaders support Ukraine, Putin turned to his allies on Sunday. He held a phone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Information from Putin and Trump has been light on details. They spoke to reporters for a total of 12 minutes and took no questions on Friday. They didn't mention whether Russia or Ukraine will give up land acquired during the war. The three-on-three meeting included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also is Trump's national security adviser, as well as Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff. They both spoke on Sunday TV talk shows with some slight differences in their perceptions of the meeting. "We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remains some big areas of disagreement," Rubio said on ABC's This Week. "So, we're still a long ways off. I mean we're not at the precipice of a peace agreement, we're not at the edge of one, but I do think progress was made." On NBC's Meet the Press, Rubio downplayed sanctions on Russia. "I don't think new sanctions on Russia are going to force him to accept the cease-fire. They're already under very severe sanctions." "We want to wind up with a peace deal that ends this war so Ukraine can go on with the rest of their lives and rebuild their country and be assured that this is never going to happen again," Rubio said on CBS's Face the Nation, adding "both sides are going to have to give, and both sides should expect to get something from this." Witkoff, who served as Trump's envoy to the Middle East, said he saw some progress. "The point was that we began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal," Witkoff said in an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union. "We made so much progress at this meeting with regard to all the other ingredients necessary for a peace deal that we, that President Trump pivoted to that place." Putin spoke about "land swaps" during the meeting, Witkoff said. Witkoff said that Putin discussed land swaps during their meeting, but did not go into specifics beyond that Putin now suggesting swaps occur at the current front lines rather than the administrative boundaries of at least some of the regions. "The Russians made some concessions at the table with regard to all five of those regions," Witkoff said. "Hopefully, we can cut through and make some decisions right then and there." The Trump administration has said it is up to Zelensky to accept a deal, and noted that Zelensky has opposed land swaps. Trump told the European leaders that Putin insists Ukraine allow Russia to totally control the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine where intense fighting has taken place since 2022, two sources told The New York Times. In exchange, he would freeze the current front lines elsewhere in Ukraine -- the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia -- and promised not to attack Ukraine again or other European nation. Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk, which represents 30% of the eastern region. Russia had partially seized the Donbas in 2014 when the nation annexed the Crimean peninsula and captured key areas of the region in 2022. Witkoff also said Putin agreed to allow a collective defense provision for Ukraine in a peace deal. For the first time, Witkoff said Putin offered a version of NATO's Article 5 provision -- that the groups members will come to the defense of an ally under attack -- with Ukraine, but without involvement from NATO. "We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee," Witkoff said on CNN. "Putin has said that a red flag is NATO admission," Witkoff said. And so what we were discussing was assuming that that held, assuming that the Ukrainians could agree to that and could live with that - and everything is going to be about what the Ukrainians can live with - but assuming they could, we were able to win the following concession that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection." Putin hasn't spoken directly about aspects of a possible peace deal. Zelensky thanked the European nations' support since the beginning of the war in February 2025, and said "sanctions show we are serious." "We need real negotiations, which means they can start where the front line is now," Zelensky said at a news conference with the EU's von der Leyen. "The contact line is the best line for talking [...] Russia is still unsuccessful in Donetsk region. Putin has been unable to take it for 12 years, and the Constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory or trade land. "Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia and the trilateral Ukraine-United States-Russia. So far, Russia gives no sign that trilateral will happen, and if Russia refuses, then new sanctions must follow." Zelensky said he wanted more clarity on the "security guarantees" from Trump. Unlike Trump, Zelensky has urged a ceasefire before a peace deal. "First we have to stop the killings," Zelensky said. "Putin has many demands, but we do not know all of them, and if there are really as many as we heard, then it will take time to go through them all. "It's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons. So it's necessary to cease-fire and work quickly on a final deal. We'll talk about it in Washington. Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it," the Ukrainian president said. Von der Leyen, noting Ukraine must become a "steel porcupine, undigestible for potential invaders," said there must be no limitations on Ukraine's military. "We must have strong security guarantees to protect both Ukraine and Europe's vital security interests. Ukraine must be able to uphold its sovereignty and its territorial integrity," she said. Pope Leon XIV posted on X on Sunday: "Let us pray that efforts to bring wars to an end and to promote peace may bear fruit, and that in negotiations the common good of peoples may always be placed first." Situation in Ukraine Russia continued aerial attacks overnight with five people dead and at least 11 injured in Ukraine's Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, local authorities said. A 15-year-old boy was killed in a Russian attack in the village of Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian officials said. The boy's parents, younger brother and sisters were injured. Russia launched 60 long-range drones and one ballistic missile, according to Ukraine's Air Force, as 40 other drones were downed by Ukrainian defenses. Russia's Ministry of Defense said 46 drones were intercepted from Ukraine. One person was injured in Russia's Voronzh region from debris, the local governor said. In central Kyiv at a market, the BBC reported few people were hopeful about the meeting on Monday. "The signs don't tell us about good expectations for tomorrow," said 35-year-old Iryna Levchuk while picking fruit and with her dog Susy, rescued from the frontline city of Kherson. Regarding a land swap, Dmitril said: "This won't work -- none of this will work. You've got to explain to the people that they need to negotiate with the terrorists." Solve the daily Crossword
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Charter schools offer hope AND deliver excellence in NYC's toughest neighborhoods
Charter schools deliver results for kids in the parts of New York City where 'the system' has given up: It's just obscene that supposed progressives like Zohran Mamdani keep selling out the charter sector to win the support of privileged special interests. The Post reports today on the stunning difference in The Bronx: Students at public charter schools excel on state K-8 reading and math exams, in stark contrast to the sad scores at Department of Education schools. Counting all 99 Bronx charters, 68.6% of students passed the reading exams in grades 3 to 8, vs. 43.6% in Bronx traditional public schools — a 25-point difference. Advertisement In math, it was nearly a 26-point gap: an average 69.2% of charter kids passing vs. 43.3% in regular 'district' schools. Students at the highest-performing charters were simply amazing; 95% or more passing in English and math at the four South Bronx Classical Charter schools; 90%-plus at the several Zeta Charter Schools, the five Success Academy schools and nearly as well at the Icahn network of seven schools. Advertisement Citywide, per an analysis by the New York City Charter School Center, charters led district schools by 11 points — in good measure because regular public schools aren't as terrible in the other four boroughs; indeed, a handful are nearly as high-scoring as the better charters. And no, the college-oriented approach of the Success network and others isn't right for all kids — but for a lot of lower-income families, charters offer the only access to a school culture of high expectations, academic excellence and accountability. And the sector's smaller independent schools focus on serving other kinds of kids — with some specializing in dual-language learners, children with autism or other special needs and so on. Advertisement Another key difference: A (very) few charters fail as badly as the worst Department of Education schools — but the terrible charters get shut down fast while DOE failure factories keep going year after year. The city's 285 charters enroll about 15% of all public-school students, 150,000 kids in all. Almost 90% of charter students are black or Latino; 83% come from low-income families; 19% have special needs. For these demographics, in the city's toughest neighborhoods, charters do exactly what everyone says public schools are supposed to do: offer real opportunity to all children. Teachers unions always claim to care about the kids, yet serve their own interests above all else; they relentlessly use their vast power in Albany against the charter sector. Advertisement That's why the Legislature refuses to lift the cap set in law to let more charters open in the city, why charters get far less per-pupil funding than other schools. And why Mamdani has promised to be hell on charters, looking to kick them out of their school buildings and otherwise squeeze the whole sector. With all the talk about 'affordability,' it sure seems like the mayoral race should acknowledge that charter schools make hope affordable in the city's most vulnerable communities.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
British horseracing to go on strike in protest against rise in betting taxes
LONDON (AP) — British horseracing will stage an unprecedented one-day strike on Sept. 10 to protest a proposed rise in taxes on race betting. The four scheduled meetings that day — at Carlisle, Uttoxeter, Lingfield and Kempton — will not take place after agreements between the owners of the courses and the British Horseracing Authority, making it the first time the sport in Britain has voluntarily refused to race in modern history. The BHA set up the 'Axe the Racing Tax' campaign in response to proposals to replace the existing three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single tax, with fears the current 15% duty on racing could be increased to the 21% levied on games of chance. Brant Dunshea, chief executive at the British Horseracing Authority, said the strike intends to 'highlight to (the) government the serious consequences of the treasury's tax proposals which threaten the very future of our sport.' 'British racing is already in a precarious financial position and research has shown that a tax rise on racing could be catastrophic for the sport and the thousands of jobs that rely on it in towns and communities across the country," Dunshea said. 'This is the first time that British racing has chosen not to race due to government proposals. We haven't taken this decision lightly but in doing so we are urging the government to rethink this tax proposal to protect the future of our sport which is a cherished part of Britain's heritage and culture." The British government said it was bringing the 'treatment of online betting in line with other forms of online gambling to cut down bureaucracy.' 'It is not about increasing or decreasing rates,' the government said, "and we welcome views from all stakeholders including businesses, trade bodies, the third sector and individuals.' ___ AP sports:
