Birmingham residents have accused the local council and police of “dragging their heels” and giving “free rein” to a group responsible for erecting flags across the city.
Raise the Colours, which describes itself as a grassroots movement, has been placing union jack and St George’s cross flags on lamp-posts, roundabouts and other public infrastructure since last summer.
Although its website states it is a “campaign to cover Britain in symbols of unity and patriotism”, others have accused the group of racism and spreading anti-immigration rhetoric – claims it has denied.
The Guardian spoke to residents in Birmingham who said they had met the city council and the West Midlands police and crime commissioner (PCC) several times in six months, highlighting concerns about the conduct of Raise the Colours and its activities.
Sara*, a member of the Brummies United Against Racism group, said she wants the council to seek an injunction against the group. “We’ve been lobbying the council continuously to remove the flags and they’ve been really dragging their heels about it,” she said.
During the meetings, Sara said the council and the PCC, Simon Foster, had been presented with a compilation of evidence with brief statements, videos and images, from residents of incidents and confrontations involving Raise the Colours and others.
“Action needs to be taken against this group,” Sara said. “People are being intimidated, people are being threatened, people are being doxed [having personal information, such as home address, published online].
“We’re hearing now that [the council] is weeks away from getting an injunction but for us, it’s a little too late.”
Duncan Ali, a Green party councillor, said the council was in a “quagmire” over the issue but his party was committed to ensuring action would be taken. The Greens are in a minority administration with the Liberal Democrats and Better Birmingham Independent Group.
“There’s a huge amount of evidence of the aggressive, intimidating, violent behaviour of Raise the Colours and that is being used to request an injunction against that organisation,” Ali said. “As Green party councillors, I’m not going to sit back and let this continue. It will be stopped. It may take time, and it may cost money, but it will be stopped.”
Oxfordshire county council successfully secured a high court injunction preventing the unauthorised hanging of flags, including St George’s cross and union flags, on or near public highways, specifically naming four individuals, including the Raise the Colours co-founder, Ryan Bridge.
In its claim to the high court, the Lib Dem council in Oxford said contractors removing flags had been met “with hostility and obstruction”. The claim also acknowledged Bridge was arrested in Oxford on suspicion of causing religiously and racially aggravated harassment in April.
Separately, he has been charged with common assault by Sussex police after an incident in Brighton in June.
After Oxfordshire secured the injunction, Bridge, along with the others named, agreed to stop hoisting England flags on lampposts in the region and to not encourage others to do so.
Birmingham residents informed local authorities about an incident in May when a man was seriously injured in a hit-and-run after a group of people had gathered to remove flags. Two men have since been arrested in relation to the incident and released on bail, West Midlands police said.
Adam*, a resident in Birmingham who took down flags that day, said: “It strikes me that there are set scripts that in any confrontation you have with Raise the Colours. First it’s, ‘Why do you hate the flag? You’re not patriotic’… Then it quickly leads to, ‘We’re against the boats coming in, stop the boats.’
“I don’t think any boat has ever been stopped by a flag in a lamp-post,” he added.
Sara said local officials in Birmingham were also told about the 10-year France travel ban against Bridge and others after the French interior ministry said “far-right” activists had attempted to stop migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats.
In an interview with GB News in February, Bridge said he hadn’t committed a crime in France and he went to “document what’s not happening and its weak government and weak borders”.
Sara said such incidents, as well as Oxford’s high court injunction, further validated the demands of Birmingham residents that the council could and should take action.
“We compare Oxford’s response to Birmingham, where they have acted much more quickly,” she said. “Raise the Colours have been given a free rein of our city to put up flags.”
West Midlands police said the decision to remove flags from public infrastructure was a “matter for the local authority or relevant highways agency”.
“Our role is to ensure those authorities can carry out their work without incident, intimidation, or breach of the peace,” a spokesperson for the force said. “We understand the strength of feeling around the issue of flags and will continue to listen to the concerns of local communities.”
Foster, the the West Midlands PCC, said: “I have consistently and repeatedly encouraged Birmingham city council and West Midlands police to take proactive and robust action to prevent and tackle any and all harassment, alarm, distress or other criminal behaviour associated with the illegal erection of flags and that includes an application for a civil injunction.
“I trust that proactive and robust action will be taken to resolve this matter at the earliest possible opportunity.”
A Birmingham city council said attaching unauthorised items, such as flags, to public infrastructure was “not permitted, and any such items will be removed”.
They added: “We are aware that recent flag related activity has contributed to increased tensions in some areas, and we encourage all residents to act responsibly and respectfully to help maintain calm, reduce the risk of intimidation, and support community cohesion during this period.”
Raise the Colours has been contacted for comment.
