Overview

• On July 25, Brighton and Hove City Council issued a licence breach notice for Alison Lesley’s Hove beach hut painted with the Palestinian flag.
• Council rules allow only single solid colours or vertical stripes, and Lesley was initially given three days to comply before a weeklong extension was granted under threat of enforced repainting at her cost.
• The 77-year-old retired psychotherapist says her stripes qualify as vertical and points to another hut displaying the French flag for two years as evidence of inconsistent enforcement.
• The council defended its stance by warning the flag design could cause distress and undermine local harmony in line with its strict painting policy.
• Supporters decry the order as an unfair curb on free political expression, and Lesley has agreed to meet the deadline by repainting her hut.