England flags were torn down from a street in Nottingham and replaced with signs saying “We are welcoming” and “We are kind”. St George’s Cross flags were attached to lampposts in Mansfield Road and Forest Road East in the city a week ago.
They were removed and replaced by hand-painted placards on Tuesday (October 8), in apparent opposition to the public flying of England and Union flags from lampposts, signs and street furniture in the UK. This summer was marked by protests near hotels housing asylum seekers and a campaign known as “Operation Raise the Colours”, which saw flags appear across the country.
Nottingham has seen relatively few flags flown as part of that campaign, according to the Nottingham Post. The movement itself divided opinion, with supporters hailing it as a display of patriotism and critics insisting it’s divisive, racist and fuelled by the far right.
Police launched investigations after St George’s crosses appeared on landmarks, including a fabric version on the Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire and a painted cross on Nottingham’s Goosey the Goose model.
A large Union flag was also draped on the Brownhills Miner, a 40ft statue which honours the mining heritage of the West Midlands town.
The statue on a roundabout in Brownhills was already surrounded by dozens of smaller St George’s flags, which had been placed on the grass around it.
A local Facebook group, called Raise the Colour BROWNHILLS, posted photos and videos of the flag-draped statue.
The stainless steel statue was created by sculptor John McKenna and depicts a miner with arms raised in the air brandishing a pickaxe.
It is called Jigger after Jack “Jigger” Taylor, who was killed in a mining disaster in 1951, and is also known by local people as the Tin Man.
Elsewhere, detectives have been investigating claims a city councillor was threatened with rape after an announcement that a council would begin removing Union and St George’s flags from public spaces.
It emerged in September that a Derby City councillor said she had received a rape threat after announcing the plans.
A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said last month the force had received reports of a public order incident and investigations were ongoing.
