Local councils have spent £60k removing flags after summer surge

Operation Raise the Colours has cost councils thousands

Union Flags and Saint George's Crosses appeared across the nation over the summer, which supporters put down to a rise in patriotism.

However, critics accused the people behind the movement - including 'Operation Raise the Colours' - of being associated with far-right extremists.

FOI data has now revealed that East Riding of Yorkshire Council logged the most clean-up jobs, at 91 – with an attached cost of £2,543 – but this has since risen to £6,100.

City of York Council spent the highest amount: £16,378 cleaning up five incidents.

Next was Cambridgeshire County Council, who spent £8,634 cleaning up over 40. The council says it has now embarked on the process of getting the money reimbursed from its street lighting contractor.

Campaigners advocated flying the Union Flag and St George’s Cross in public places – saying it promoted patriotism.

Critics, such as advocacy group Hope not Hate, say the campaign was organised by ‘well-known racists and extremists’.

The costs data was uncovered in a FOI request sent by Pablo O’Hana to 383 local councils.

It revealed that £61,770 had been spent by 36 local authorities.

The political adviser made headlines in August when he ripped down a St George’s flag from a road bridge in Manchester and got in to a heated argument with the man who’d put it up.

Pablo says he thinks the actual cost of the removals could be much higher, as the data shows 583 incidents of flag removals across 276 areas – but just 36 councils recorded a cost to the work, indicating most have absorbed the costs into their budgets.

For example, Surrey County Council recorded 67 clean-up jobs at a cost of £0.

Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance warned that councils face a ‘behind-the-scenes financial crisis’ due to the flag removals.

He said: “Flag removals being soaked up by other teams like neighbourhood and highways may keep services moving in the short term but it hides the true cost, warps resourcing, and we can’t see whether cash is being quietly diverted from frontline services like social care, street cleaning, libraries or road repairs.

“The bottom line is simple: where councils show their numbers, the bills are real; where they don’t, the work is real but the costs are hidden.

“That isn’t transparency; it’s accountancy fog, and local residents lose out.

“Taxpayers have the right to know where and how their money is being spent. Every pound should be visible and well spent.”

A spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: “The initial cost to the council of restoring markings on the highway because of the painting of unauthorised red crosses during the past few months was £2,543.

“That cost, as of today [November 3], has risen to £6,100.

“The council is responsible for road safety and the maintenance of our highways and making sure markings are clear and legible for all road users.

“As part of this responsibility, we are committed to removing any unsafe or unauthorised displays, paintings, or graffiti that could distract or confuse drivers, including on give‑way and stop lines, pedestrian crossing markings and waiting/loading restrictions.

“When reports have been received about such displays on public highways, the council has investigated and removed them where necessary to ensure the safety of all road users.

“Any council-owned infrastructure that is vandalised will be reported to Humberside Police as criminal damage.”

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: “This is the sum we had spent at the time. We have since commenced the process of having these costs reimbursed by our street lighting contractor.”