A council said it will “not tolerate” any abuse of its workers taking down flags being flown in a quaint market town. Leek Town Council in Staffordshire said flags and bunting would be removed from the centre of the town “as usual” to make way for Christmas decorations.
The council said this happens annually, with the flags put up by the local authority earlier in the year ahead of festivals in Leek on the edge of the Peak District. The warning by Leek Town Council comes amid incidents of council contractors in different parts of the country being confronted after taking down unauthorised flags. The Operation Raise the Colours campaign, launched over the summer, has seen flags attached to lamp posts and signs across the UK.
Activists in the movement said putting up the flags is patriotic, while critics have accused them of sowing division amid heightened tensions over immigration.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Leek Town Council said: “Please note that the flags and bunting in Leek town centre are currently being taken down as usual to make way for Christmas lights and little Christmas trees to be installed.
“This happens on an annual basis. Any abuse aimed at our contractors whilst carrying out their tasks will not be tolerated.”
Councillor Matt Swindlehurst, chairman of the council’s events sub-committee, added: “The town centre flags and bunting are my responsibility. We put them up in time for Scooterfest and take them down as soon as the Blues Americana festival is over.
“This leaves time for the contractor to stress test the fixings for the Christmas lights, put the lights up, and test them before the big switch on in a few weeks.”
It comes weeks after Sarah Chambers, a Derby City councillor, reported receiving threats after announcing the council would start removing Union and St George’s flags from its public spaces.
On Wednesday, Tower Hamlets Council in London carried a motioncalling the campaign to fly British and English flags from lampposts and street furniture across the country as “far right”.