Overview

• Ecotricity founder and Labour donor Dale Vince has draped a 30‑foot Palestinian flag over two storeys of the company’s headquarters in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
• Stroud District Council says he must apply for planning permission because the banner represents an entity not recognised by the UK government under current rules.
• Vince says he will neither submit an application nor remove the display, arguing the council’s interpretation is wrong and describing the matter as a moral issue.
• Local reaction is split, with some residents and the Conservative group leader urging removal while others describe it as a peace symbol.
• The dispute is unfolding as councils in Birmingham and Tower Hamlets take down Union Jacks and St George’s crosses, with Downing Street saying such decisions are for local authorities.