Overview

• Flags and painted crosses expanded this week from city centres to highways, with banners fixed to bridges, lampposts and retail signs, and road markings altered in towns including Colchester and Swindon.
• National Highways said flags on motorway bridges and routes in Lancashire will be taken down for safety, and Durham removed road-spanning bunting judged hazardous to high-sided vehicles.
• Councils such as Oldham and Colchester warned that repainting roundabouts and crossings breaches the Highways Act and must be removed, with police inquiries reported and an arrest in Essex over vandalism.
• Manchester signalled a different approach by saying safely installed flags that cause no damage will remain, while condemning any tampering with traffic markings as dangerous.
• A More in Common poll found 58% of Britons want more national flags in public spaces, even as groups like Hope Not Hate flag links to far-right activists and anti-immigration protests.