Flags not anti-immigrant symbol, says mayor

Flags should not be used a symbol to suggest immigrants are not welcome, the mayor of the Liverpool city region has said.

Steve Rotheram told BBC Radio Merseyside he was not against displays of patriotism, but drew the line at using flags to target "people who they might describe as non-English or non-British or whatever".

He said Liverpool was a welcoming, multi-cultural place that had been "built on the back of immigrants".

The comments come after St George's flags have been hoisted aloft in public places and scrawled on places including roundabouts and bridges in recent weeks across England.