'People feel unwelcome over England flag-flying'

Salman Mirza took down flags raised in his neighbourhood of Bearwood, after local residents said they made them feel unwelcome

A man who has taken down union jacks and St George‘s flags in his neighbourhood claims they make non-white people feel unwelcome in their own country.

Thousands of banners have been raised across the West Midlands in recent months by people who say they are "patriots wanting to spread pride and unity".

But others, including Salman Mirza, claim the flags have been hijacked by far-right groups promoting anti-immigrant and racist sentiments.

Mr Mirza, a prominent activist, has taken down four flags raised in his area of Bearwood, West Midlands, after a local woman told him she felt like she "did not belong" there.

"People have said it's reminiscent of the 60s, when the Ku Klux Klan burnt crosses outside houses," Mr Mirza said.

"It's like a marker isn't it? 'This is an area where we don't like migrants, basically'."

Mr Mirza thinks the flags are sending the wrong message

While Mr Mirza feels uncomfortable about them, the flags have been welcomed across the political spectrum.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was "proud of our flag as a patriotic symbol of our nation" and he had one up at home.

But he warned they should not be used to make people feel "intimidated because of their background or the colour of their skin".

Sandwell Council, which administers Bearwood, said it was also proud to fly the union jack every day of the year.

"We regularly fly the flag to mark significant events for our country," it said.

"We would discourage people from climbing lamp-posts to attach flags and banners for their own safety. There are no specific plans to remove flags, but any flags causing an obstruction to visibility, such as on traffic lights and signs, would need to be removed."

Some roundabouts have also been sprayed with the St George's cross

Mr Mirza works for a charity that provides immigration advice and is well-known in the West Midlands for his pro-migrant position.

The 58-year-old pointed to recent racially-motivated attacks in Oldbury and Wolverhampton, saying he believed there was a correlation between flags going up and racist attacks increasing. Both incidents are being investigated by police.

He urged people to show pride by helping neighbours or donating to food banks, but added he was aware he would receive abuse, which has already begun online, for his position on the flags.

'Model of integration'

Mr Mirza, who was born in the UK, has provoked fury from some on social media and become the subject of racist messages on X.

Videos of him taking a flags down on 5 October led to him being described as a "foreigner", with one message calling for him to be "detained and deported".

"I'm the model of integration," Mr Mirza said. "I only speak English I've served in the British Army.

"I hardly ever travel abroad and I spend locally. Yet I'm not good enough, after ticking all their alleged boxes of being the perfect migrant.

"It's because of the colour of my skin. There is no difference between me and another British person. You can't get more British than me."

Flags have been draped across the West Midlands

A row broke out over the summer when Birmingham City Council said it would remove new flags from lamp-posts for health and safety reasons.

Some pointed out the fact that Palestinian flags, while far fewer in number, had long flown in other parts of the city.

And despite his unease about union jacks and St George's flags, Mr Mirza said he was supportive of flying Palestine ones.

He said this was because Palestine was "not recognised as a country" whereas the UK was.

Some Jewish groups have expressed unease at seeing Palestine flags raised in UK cities and the UK government was criticised by Israel last month when it announced the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Sir Keir Starmer recognised a Palestinian state in September

"I support when we have International Women's Day but I don't support having International Men's Day because that's 365 days a year," Mr Mirza said.

"Part of putting the flags up is to say we don't want this country to be supporting this genocide in Palestine.

"I totally understand why people think there's real hypocrisy here. I get that. But that's the beauty of having a conversation about it."

The world's leading association of genocide scholars has declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. But Israel has regularly denied that its actions amount to genocide and its foreign ministry said the scholars' report was based on "Hamas lies" and poor research.

Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israelis killed about 1,200 people, with 251 others taken hostage and Israel says its actions since then have been justified as a means of self-defence.

'All of our country'

Ryan Bridge, one of the men behind the Birmingham campaign that has seen union jacks and St George flags placed on lamp-posts, has told the BBC he has no regrets over his actions.

And Martin Woodhouse, who flooded a roundabout in Brownhills with St George's flags, said he was proud of his efforts and insisted it was not causing division in his community.

"People are coming from outside town to come and visit it," he said. "That's bringing trade to the local businesses.

"I just looked at the place and thought we have got a rich history and we should celebrate that."