Tower Hamlets Council to remove Palestinian flags

The council did not say when the flags would be removed, but said it would be done "with careful consideration of community tension going forward"

Palestinian flags placed on street furniture in Tower Hamlets are to be removed, the council has said.

Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman said the "difficult" decision had been taken after the flags became the focus of "media attacks".

Last month, Conservative MP Paul Scully said there were "no-go" areas in parts of the east London borough.

The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign said "it very much doubts" the flags cause "any harm".

Mr Rahman said he rejected the idea that the flags were symbols of division, but the council had made the decision to remove them.

'Islamophobic smears'

"We have been described as a no-go area by a senior Conservative MP, and received notice from the government that an immediate inspection of the council would begin that day and continue over the coming months," he said.

"Numerous articles have been published about the borough in the past fortnight, often littered with inaccuracies and Islamophobic smears.

"Sadly, it is clear the Palestinian flags flying in the borough have been the focus of these media attacks," Mr Rahman said.

He added that a recent rise in Islamophobia in London made "Tower Hamlets, with the highest Muslim population in the UK, a target".

'Should have acted weeks ago'

However, local Conservative councillor Peter Golds said he felt the decision to remove them should have been taken months ago.

"There are many people who are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause but at the same time we don't want to see lampposts in every street covered with flags, of any kind," he said.

"The council commissioned a senior lawyer to write a report on this. They received the report several weeks ago and it was quite conclusive that the flags contravened planning law and therefore were unlawful.

"They should have acted weeks ago."

The decision comes nearly five months after Transport for London said it would remove "unauthorised flags" from its infrastructure within the borough.

Flags have been placed around the borough in response to the conflict in the Middle East

A spokesperson for the council said: "Tower Hamlets is one of the most diverse places in the country and we have seen Palestinian flags put up by residents on private and public land during the recent Middle East conflict."

The council said that community tensions were being assessed by a monitoring group, which included the police and community organisations with both Muslim and Jewish representatives.

"Until now, the council has decided not to remove the flags because we believe it could destabilise community cohesion," the authority said.

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It explained that the decision, made in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police, was due to recent "unfair and divisive sentiment" about the borough and its communities.

Sybil Cock, from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said of the decision to remove the flags: "I can't think of any evidence that any harm has come of them and I don't think they encourage Islamophobia."

The campaigner told BBC London: "The flag of Palestine represents the Palestinian people that we are in solidarity with - and so it just represents solidarity."

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