Overview

• Portsmouth City Council called a St George’s Cross painted onto the Victorian Guildhall upsetting and unlawful, confirmed road symbols must be removed by law, and said flags on lamp posts would stay unless hazardous.
• Durham Constabulary reported criminal-damage complaints linked to flags and painted crosses and said each incident will be reviewed individually, with local cases including a car graffitied with crosses and the word “out.”
• Cumbria Police rebutted viral claims that officers were taking down a flag, explaining the widely shared photo showed CCTV installation after vandalism reports and that the flag remained in place.
• Councils reiterated safety-based policies on unauthorised attachments, with Cumberland warning flags will be removed from highways infrastructure to protect drivers and assets and Manchester saying lamppost flags would only go if they pose a risk.
• Worthing’s Labour leader Sophie Cox condemned the coordinated campaign as divisive, a local Conservative leader defended lawful displays conducted safely, and HOPE not hate flagged links to far-right figures while noting most flag-flying is lawful, alongside community fundraising in Cumbria to buy more flags.