8 hours ago
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Oxfordshire county council is seeking an injunction against the Raise the Colours campaign group after England flags were tied to lamp-posts across the county.
The campaign has been putting up flags across the country since August last year, and there is a particular proliferation of them in and around Oxford. Though the campaign has said it is motivated by pride and patriotism, the flag raising has been linked to anti-immigration protests.
The county has so far spent £15,000 to remove more than 300 union and St George’s cross flags from lamp-posts.
The leader of the flag group, the Birmingham-based Ryan Bridge, was arrested in April on suspicion of causing religiously and racially aggravated harassment. This happened shortly after he and his group filmed themselves raising flags around Oxfordshire
Residents have complained online about the flags, saying they look “awful”, particularly at Headington roundabout on the outskirts of Oxford. Some local people have been putting up flags of other countries, including Ireland and Jamaica, alongside the England flags, in protest.
Oxfordshire county council in April issued a legal notice banning the group from putting up flags, arguing it was an “act of intimidation and division”. But the flag raising has continued, so the council is seeking an injunction at the high court, which will be heard on 23 June.
The council says the flag incidents have included “trespass, obstruction of the highway, and incidents where council teams, contractors and residents have faced confrontation or harassment”. It added that council teams had also been subject to abuse and harassment when removing flags.
If the council is granted the injunction, it could prohibit further flag raising on or near the highway and allow the authority to take enforcement action if the order is breached.
There are named individuals in the court filing who are associated with Raise the Colours.
The unauthorised placement of flags on highway infrastructure is already a criminal offence.
The council said flag raising “has created clear road safety and public safety risks and caused distress in local communities”. The council leader, Tim Bearder of the Liberal Democrats, said: “This application is about protecting our residents, our workforce and the values we stand for as a county.”
He said the issue was not about the flags themselves, adding: “We proudly fly the union flag and St George’s flag at County Hall and we fully support the right of residents to display flags on their own private property.”
However, he said “there’s an important distinction between lawful expression and activity that puts people at risk or intimidates residents in their own communities”.
Of the Raise the Colours campaign, Bearder said: “This activity is not about national pride or unity. It is unlawful behaviour, which has caused fear and division within our communities. We have a clear responsibility to keep people safe and ensure our public spaces are welcoming and inclusive for everyone.”
Some critics have pointed out that the injunction application is coinciding with the World Cup, when people want to put up England flags. The high court will hear the council’s application the same day England take on Ghana in their second World Cup fixture.
Liam Walker, a Conservative councillor in Oxfordshire, told the Telegraph: “With the World Cup now under way and communities across the country coming together to support their national teams, many residents will question whether this is really the right time to be escalating matters further through the courts.”
The Tory party chair, Kevin Hollinrake, said the injunction was “shameful” and urged the Lib Dems to “get off their virtue-signalling high horse and get behind our flag”.
