A UK council will debate a motion on Wednesday to consider branding “Operation Raise the Colours” as “far-right”. Tower Hamlets Council has launched a bid to condemn those who are flying flags and protesting against the use of migrant hotels, including the ‘Pink Ladies’ campaign group who formed after a number of asylum seekers were charged with sexual offences. Two Labour councillors, Mufeedah Bustin and Abdi Mohamed, are behind the motion set to be discussed, to “stand up to the far-right and tackle uneven development on the Isle of Dogs”.
In response to this, the Pink Ladies are planning a protest outside of the council offices in Whitechapel. The organiser wrote online: “Do not DARE try to silence the Mothers of Britain. WE ARE (always ) RIGHT not Far Right.” In the councillors’ proposal, they claim “far-right narratives” are being disguised “under the banner of keeping women and children safe”.
The motion says: “Local residents have valid concerns around safety, security and equity, but in the absence of information or leadership, these concerns have been allowed to escalate and become entwined with far-right narratives under the banner of keeping women and children safe.”
Earlier this year, the Home Office used the four-star Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, to house migrants. A number of protests have since taken place outside of the accommodation.
“Over the summer, the presence and activity of far-right and fascist groups at the Britannia Hotel in recent weeks, including individuals associated with White Vanguard, the Homeland Party, the ‘Spartans’, the English Defence League, figures linked to Tommy Robinson and convicted paedophiles,” the motion says.
In addition to this, the councillors labelled Brexit as a “far-right narrative” and are urging the authority to recognise that “migrants and refugees contribute more to the UK economy than they take out”.
“There has been an increase in far-right narratives and support for those narratives over the last 15 years, as seen through Brexit, increases in Islamophobia, and more recently, the focus on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers,” the motion states.
They added: “An organised campaign, Operation Raise the Colours, (which saw St George’s cross and Union flags attached to public infrastructure across the country without consent). That this national campaign is led by far-right extremists.”
The Daily Express has contacted Tower Hamlets council for comment.