Overview

• Birmingham City Council confirmed it has removed about 200 unauthorised attachments from lamp posts this year, including Palestinian flags, under safety-focused guidelines.
• Councils say staff need police support to remove high-up flags after safety concerns arose during initial removal attempts.
• Tower Hamlets Council vowed to clear newly placed Union and St George’s flags “as soon as possible” under routine maintenance policies.
• The decentralised “Operation Raise the Colours” campaign has driven volunteers to affix British and English flags to lampposts in towns including Birmingham, Swindon, Bradford, Newcastle and Norwich.
• Critics accuse the councils of inconsistent enforcement, pointing to last year’s removal of Palestinian flags in Tower Hamlets.