Inside the flag wars with anti-migrant vigilantes tearing apart UK villages ...Middle East

When Will* opened the door to greet the postman, he found two police officers on his front step. A threat had been reported against him and his family, they said.

A video of him taking down an England flag in his small village went viral last summer. Captioned “traitor”, one clip clocked up half-a-million views and 10,000 comments – nearly all expressing outrage. One of those viewers, it seemed, was prepared to act on their anger.

Will is just one of many people taking down flags across the country. Tensions between flag raisers and deflaggers have flared across towns and villages for the past six months, with scores of St George’s and Union flags appearing on lampposts and motorway bridges.

These flags and others have been put up by groups of people who say their actions are peaceful and borne out of a patriotic love for this country. Some flag-raisers have gained hundreds of thousands of social media followers, drawn in large sums of donations through crowd-funding efforts and posted videos of supporters cheering them on.

But some critics believe the campaign to fly England flags is a smokescreen for anti-immigrant racism, which is being fuelled by the far right.

One group of flag raisers has risen to particular prominence. Operating mostly in villages just south of Birmingham, the campaign group “Raise the Colours” describe themselves as a “grassroots movement for unity and patriotism”.

The group’s notoriety has increased after members travelled to France in a bid to stop migrants crossing the Channel. The i Paper revealed how Ryan Bridge, who fronts much of Raise the Colours’ social media, filmed himself slashing small boats and harassing migrants alongside other vigilantes, including the former bodyguard of far right leader Tommy Robinson, Daniel Thomas.

British anti-migrant vigilantes who have been slashing boats and harassing migrants want to push things even further and a tip-off from an alarmed member of the public has revealed some of their plans. The men, linked to the Raise the Colours group, were overheard discussing misdirecting police so large groups of British men could cross the Channel to join their efforts in France. They now claim they’ve begun the plan, posting footage of a slashed boat, though it’s impossible to verify when this was filmed. It’s unclear whether what we’ve seen today is all they’ve managed to organise, or if more is still to come.

In between excursions to the French coast, Raise the Colours has continued to put up flags in areas such as Bridge’s home village and other surrounding communities, including Alvechurch, Wythall and Stirchley.

While some people living in areas where flags have appeared are happy to see the displays, others have said they find them intimidating. This has prompted comment from equality charities, such as Stand Against Racism and Inequality, who told the BBC in August that the flags “are making some minoritised people feel less safe” despite not every flag being raised with “the intent to divide”.

400 flags up – and only 42 remain

Will’s sentiments are echoed by some of his neighbours across the villages, including deflagger Lewis*.

There is a difference, Lewis believes, between the masses of flags being put up now, as opposed to when patriotic symbols are displayed during events such as the World Cup or a royal wedding.

“If it’s patriotic, it should be democratic and a decision made by everybody. If not, then it is something that is imposed,” Lewis adds. “And if you object to that, you’re labelled a ‘lefty lunatic’.”

Deflaggers from these villages have been getting organised, swapping tips in WhatsApp groups and meeting in pubs, village halls and front rooms in a bid to counter the flag-raisers.

Lewis keeps meticulous notes on his village’s progress. Around 400 flags were put up by Raise the Colours in his area, and 300 were removed by four deflaggers. Around a hundred were replaced, and the count in early December was 42 flags remaining.

There is also concern that younger people in these communities might get drawn into anti-migrant hate. Lewis knows of one youngster he believes is being “radicalised”, and has started calling his neighbours “traitors” for removing flags.

Lewis says the young man has travelled with Bridge and others to France on anti-migrant missions. One resident was so alarmed by the change in behaviour of this young man and others, they alerted Prevent, a government-led anti-radicalisation programme.

Death threats and intimidation

Will knew he would act as soon as he heard about the flags going up in other parts of England.

“Before the flags came to our village,” Will says, “I said to myself if they come, I will take them down.”

He made a device – a long pole with a sharp end to cut cable ties – that would help him safely bring the flags down from the top of lampposts, without any rips or tears. He was out using it when he found himself being filmed by a group who claimed he was acting against the wishes of residents by pulling down the flags.

What are the laws around raising flags?

The Government has issued a “plain English guide” setting out the rules around flying flags in England.

The guide describes flying flags as a “very British way of expressing joy and pride”, as well as an activity that can “boost local and national identities, strengthen community cohesion and mark civic pride”.

“The Government wants to see more flags flown, particularly the Union Flag, the flag of the United Kingdom,” the guide adds.

While some flags require “formal consent” from local authorities, the guide states that any country’s national flag – including St George, St Andrew and Union flags – do not.

But all flags must meet certain minimum requirements. These include:

It is an offence to affix signs to structures on the highway without the consent of the highway authority, unless there is some “reasonable excuse” to do so, according to the Highways Act 1980.

Section 132(2) of the act states the highway authority can remove any such signs without the consent of the local authority.

When the footage went viral, Will says he was targeted with online abuse. His car was marked with a Union Jack and flags were put up in his village with his face on them, alongside the caption ‘This is England’.

Will has decided it’s not safe for him to continue removing flags. But he refuses to back down entirely.

Instead, he is now working with others to help bring his community back together. Plans for a mural featuring the St George’s Cross alongside other national flags in the village is under way, alongside extra support for the sports and theatre groups and funding for the food bank.

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The debate over flag raising looks set to rumble into 2026, with many for and against it – and some trying to reset the conversation.

Bradley Thomas MP, whose constituency includes some of the villages Raise the Colours has been active in, wrote in his local paper, The Bromsgrove Advertiser, back in September about the flag controversy.

He said: “The problem does not lie with the flags themselves, but with the corrosive narrative that’s been allowed to dominate. For too long, they’ve been tainted by association with extremism, racism, and division.

“But our flags don’t belong to fringe groups; they belong to the nation. They’re an emblem of our shared identity, symbols of our collective pride, and reminders of the values and traditions we hold in common.”

Whether his words of balance can be heeded this Christmas to heal the rifts that have formed in his constituency and elsewhere will have to be seen in the coming months.

*Names were changes to protect identities

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