Equality charity threatens legal action over controversial flags
Northamptonshire Rights Equality Council says ‘it is serious’ about its legal challenge asking the North unitary council to remove national flags from lampposts.
By Sarah Ward
A Northants based equality charity has today threatened legal action against North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) over its lack of action over national flags on lampposts.
Since last summer Union flags and the St George’s cross have been erected on lamposts across towns in the North of the county, with a significant presence in Kettering.
The activity has led to disputes between those putting up the flags and those pulling them down and following its survey, which found that many felt intimidated by the mass display of flags, charity Northamptonshire Rights Equality Council (NREC) has sent a letter before action to North Northamptonshire Council.
As the highways authority, NNC has powers under the Highways Act to fine those who affix anything to a lamppost, but beyond words asking people not to do so, it does not appear that the Reform UK led NNC has taken any action against those putting up flags.
The charity wants the council to remove the flags. NREC also says Northants Police has powers under anti-social behaviour to deal with the situation and is concerned that ‘there is a grave risk that the longer the council or the police fail to take action, the greater the chance of community relations being further damaged.’ It says putting up the flags is unlawful and the authorities need to take action.
Many of the flags have been put up during the hours of darkness and when taken down, have reappeared. One group in Kettering has been receiving funding from the public to purchase the flags.
The letter which has been sent through GT Stewart Solicitors & Advocates tells NNC:
“This case raises important questions about the use of national symbols in a way that seeks to exclude others from membership of the community. This is undermining community relations and we believe that local authorities along with the police should use the powers that are available to them, to promote inclusion.”
The legal letter, which has also been sent to Northants Police and the Labour police, fire and crime commissioner Danielle Stone, is calling on the council to make a clear statement that the putting up of flags on highway structures will not be condoned; that flags which have been put up will be taken down and warn anyone who is planning to put the flags up again that they could be prosecuted or fined.
In defence of those taking down the flags, the letter also states: “… the flying of flags from highway structures without consent is a criminal offence and therefore the act of taking down the flags is a legitimate and lawful response to criminal wrongdoing.”
NREC chief executive Anjona Roy told NN Journal:
“The council has responsibilities and obligations that it is not currently enacting and as a result our own obligations require us to take whatever action we can to resolve the situation for the people of Northamptonshire.”
She continued:
“Nobody wants either us, or the council to spend our meagre resources with legal action against each other. However we have an obligation as an organisation to take this action.
“Further steps can be taken and we hope they are not necessary. But we are serious and we need to make sure the council knows we are serious.”
The charity’s survey carried out in November gathered more than 400 responses in three days with a significant number saying the flags made them wary for their personal safety.
In a separate move, the group Kettering Flagdowners has sent the authority an invoice for £18,000 related to what it claims is the removal of 500 flags across Kettering.
North Northamptonshire Council said this afternoon:
“We can confirm that we are in receipt of a letter and will be responding in due course once we have considered the issue.”
I am so pleased to read about this. Living in the Kettering area, I too have made contact voicing my concerns about all this flag flying. I am definitely no royalist but I have pointed out to NNC that for the coronation, there were no flags flying, so I can only assume that the flags flapping about now are linked to Something Else…something Not Nice. Part of me has hoped that in ignoring them, the flags will lose impact and will eventually look so raggedy that they will be taken down. But still they flap about. I am so relieved that moves are being made to take this on.
The issue is that if this is allowed then anyone can put anything on lampposts and object to their removal. Also should someone have an accident while putting up flags who is to blame? If the council allow them to be put up then in the event of an accident, say due to an electrical fault causing the metalwork to be live then they could be accused of causing it.