St George’s and Union flags have reappeared on lampposts around the Isle of Dogs in east London after they were removed by council workers. Activists scaled ladders overnight to hang the flags under the cover of darkness as part of the campaign “Operation Raise the Colours”.
It has seen campaigners raising St George’s and Union flags in towns and cities across the country. Some on the Isle of Dogs have even painted St George’s crosses on zebra crossings in the area near The Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, which has been a flashpoint for tensions over migrants being housed at the site.
St George’s cross flags were pictured on Monday on the A1206 on the Isle of Dogs. Tower Hamlets Council had said it pursues a “policy setting out which flags are flown from council buildings and on which occasions”.
Locals had also seen Manchester Road in Tower Hamlets lined with St George’s flags last weekend but only a few remained as of Monday.
The local authority said while it recognised people wanted to express their views, it has a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure.
Tower Hamlets said where flags have been attached to council-owned infrastructure without permission, they may be removed as part of routine maintenance.
Flags have also been removed after being attached to lampposts in Birmingham for “health and safety” reasons while a mini-roundabout daubed with red lines was scrubbed clean in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, earlier this week.
“Operation Raise the Colours” has divided opinion in communities, with some describing the flag-raising as a celebration of patriotism while others suggest it is divisive and being used as a front for the far right to push anti-migrant, racist rhetoric.
A Tower Hamlets resident, who did not want to be named, said previoulsy that it was right the flags should come down as she thought it was linked to anti-migrant demonstrations in Canary Wharf.
Another resident said it was nice and there was nothing wrong with it. He added: “It went all along to the Britannia Hotel.”
He added it was “good to see” because “so much today is about division” and he was “just proud of being English”.
Tower Hamlets Council has been approached for comment.