Protocol for flying flags to be decided in Medway

Medway Council currently flies flags from the buildings it owns, including Gun Wharf and Rochester Castle

A Kent Council is to decide on how and when it will fly flags from buildings it owns, having been recommended to codify a previously informal process.

On Tuesday, Medway Council will be asked to approve the 'Flag Flying Protocol' for buildings including Gunwharf and Rochester Castle.

If approved, this will replace the previous approach whereby council officers liaised informally with the leaders office over which flags it thought appropriate to fly.

This protocol will be put forward by council leader Vince Maple, who has recently been criticised for the decision to take down union flags flying from lampposts in Medway.

This protocol is unrelated to this recent decision by the council.

In a report for Tuesday's cabinet meeting, the council states that having a policy for flag flying will be both "in keeping with the one Medway council plan" and also provide clarity that "fosters community cohesion".

Last month the Medway Labour and Co-op Group posted a video on social media detailing its decision to remove those union jack flags.

In that video Maple expressed concerns with what he termed a "wave of flag raising", claiming that the intention of those involved was to "intimidate minority ethnic groups".

At a recent council event in Rainham the chair of the Chatham and Aylesford Reform group, Matt Johnson, railed against this decision.

He said: "No-one in this country should see the national flag and feel intimidated by it. If you are intimidated by it that represents a problem and does that mean your allegiances are elsewhere?"

Maple, who was also a panelist on the Q&A, said these comments were "completely off the mark".