Mayor taking 'pragmatic' view on England flags

Flags can be seen on lamp-posts on a street near Aylestone Park in Leicester

Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he is "trying to take a pragmatic view" over an increased number of flags being put up in the city.

He said in cases of painted flags on public property, Leicester City Council would "try and deal with that fairly quickly", but added he was "a bit less pressed to actually get [flags] taken down off lamp-posts".

The flag movement gathered pace on social media, with the name Operation Raise the Colours, with those behind it saying they were motivated by pride and patriotism.

Others have expressed discomfort due to tensions running high across England over immigration and the St George cross often being used to promote far-right groups.

Soulsby told BBC Radio Leicester: "There are two types of activity taking place. One is actually sort of graffiti, painting over signs and things or painting, in one case, I think on a pedestrian crossing.

"Well, obviously you've got to deal with that. You can't... just allow people to paint over things that are there for another purpose or paint over things that are for public safety.

"We try and deal with that fairly quickly and get it done on an expeditious basis."

Soulsby said taking down the country's flag from a lamp-post "doesn't quite rate as highly".

"What we'll do is do them routinely, as we get round to particular areas," he added.

"There may be some that we need to target a bit and get them out where they are a real nuisance."

He said he thought there was "a political point associated with them", but added he would like to "reclaim the union flag and the flag of St George".

A pedestrian crossing in Shepshed has been painted with the St George Cross

A spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council said: "Although we're not actively monitoring for issues over our usual inspections, we do have a legal duty to act if safety is compromised.

"This includes responding to reports that highlight potential risks to public safety."

The county council added on Thursday that it had not taken down any flags in the preceding week.

Additional reporting by Ben Mellor