Leaders of the nationalist group Raise the Colours have agreed to stop hoisting England flags on lamp-posts in Oxfordshire after the local authority secured a high court injunction against the campaign. Ryan Bridge, Ben Cullen, and Trudy Wells told the high court on Tuesday they would not raise St George’s flags from Oxfordshire county council property, encourage others to do so, or impede council workers from taking them down.
Cullen said a fourth leader, Kevin Good, who was not present in court, had also agreed to have “nothing more to do with flags” in Oxfordshire. Mr Justice Dias granted the council’s application for an injunction against unauthorised flag raising by the four defendants as well as “persons unknown.” The injunction by the Liberal Democrat-led council also bans painting flags on roads, harassing council staff involved in removing flags, and encouraging anyone in these actions.
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Ryan Bridge called it “a sad day for the flag of our country and what it represents.” The Raise the Colours campaign has been putting up flags across the country since August last year, the court heard. Bridge, who like the other defendants was representing himself, told the court the council were using “bullying tactics” but he agreed to the proposed terms of the injunction.
Seeking clarification from the judge about what could amount to encouraging others to raise flags from lamp-posts, he said: “My worry is that by putting a flag up for the football tonight that would be encouraging others. That’s outrageous.” Dias said Bridge could continue erecting flags from his own property as he was “legally entitled to do.”
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At the start of the hearing, Cullen said: “My position is I would still like to keep putting flags up in Oxfordshire.” Later, he said: “I will not do it in future in Oxfordshire.” Wells said: “I’m not going to have anything to do with the flags any more.”
Documents submitted to the court by the council said it was seeking to ban “attaching flags or causing flags to be attached to highway structures; painting or marking flags on the highway; obstructing officers or contractors from removing flags from highway structures; and causing harassment, alarm or distress to officers or contractors who are or have been involved in the removal of flags from highway structures.”
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The judge agreed to grant the injunction against the four defendants and persons unknown. It bans attaching flags to highway structures, painting flags on roads, harassing council staff involved in removing flags, and encouraging anyone in these actions. Bridge, Cullen, and Wells signed a written undertaking to comply with the injunction.
The council accused them and others of “repeatedly and unlawfully” attaching flags to lamp-posts and other highway structures and having encouraged others to do the same. They also ignored requests to desist, the court heard. In documents submitted to the court, the council accused members of the campaign of intimidating council staff.
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