Overview
- Birmingham City Council has hired contractors for overnight work through October to remove unauthorised Union and St George’s flags, with job ads for MEWP operators citing the task and pay of about £22–£25 an hour.
- Recruitment listings indicate teams will work with contractor Kier to take down items attached to lamp-posts and other public property, with the council framing the effort as routine highways safety enforcement.
- In Nottingham, St George’s flags taken down on Mansfield Road were replaced with hand-painted placards reading “we are welcoming” and “we are kind,” which the city council says it will not remove.
- Leek Town Council is taking down town-centre flags and bunting for annual Christmas light installations and has warned that abuse toward contractors carrying out the work will not be tolerated.
- Police inquiries and council statements continue after confrontations and threats linked to removals, while East Sussex authorities report residents feeling intimidated and say repeat flag reappearances are diverting crews from other highway work.