Campaigners argue that the flags “make non-white residents feel unsafe and unwelcome” in the city.
Campaigners have urged a UK council to remove “intimidating” England flags from lampposts and take legal action against those raising them. The Sheffield Communities Aginst Racism and Fascism (SCARF) called for action in a letter to the city’s local authority, dubbing local participation in last year’s Operation Raise the Colours a “coordinated campaign of intimidation and anti-immigrant hate”. The online trend saw Union flags and St George’s Crosses fixed to lampposts around England last summer, with some linking it to simultaneous migrant hotel protests and accusing participants of xenophobia and racism.
Many of the flags were taken down after they were identified as safety hazards and breaches of the Highway Act, which prohibits the attachment of objects to council-owned assets. Removals in Sheffield were paused in December, however, amid concerns for staff safety after the local authority’s highway contractor said workers had faced “a lot of abuse” from “threatening and aggressive” members of the public.
The campaign group has called for all the ‘intimidating’ flags to be removed (Image: Getty)
A spokesperson for SCARF dismissed this as an “unacceptable” excuse, however, noting that councillors had “previously enforced highly unpopular policies”.
In the open letter, they said the flags amounted to “territorial markers signalling ownership of space” that were making “non-white residents feel unsafe and unwelcome in their own communities”.
They also argued that Sheffield City Council should follow the lead of local officials in cities like Scarborough, where fines of £2,000 have been issued for raising the flags.
“Public lampposts and street furniture belong to the city, not to groups who seek to intimidate and exclude,” the letter continued.
“Residents deserve to walk freely in their communities without fear, and Sheffield City Council has a duty to ensure that right is upheld.”
A spokesperson for the local authority told the BBC: “[We] wholeheartedly condemn acts of violence and harassment, and would always encourage members of the public to report these to police through the usual channels.
“We are focusing our resources on removing flags that have been modified with slogans or wording, those that have been graffitied, and those that present a safety hazard.
“Other flags attached to public infrastructure will be removed as part of routine maintenance, in line with our existing highways policy.”