London borough to remove Palestinian flags amid legal threat

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has decided to remove Palestinian flags from council buildings and infrastructure after receiving a letter before claim that argued the flag-flying breached the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

In its letter before claim, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), argued the hanging of the flags and the "council’s failure to take reasonable steps to secure their removal" constituted criminal offences contrary to section 224(4) of the 1990 Act.

UKLFI argued that since the council owns the public streets and street furniture, it had committed and was continuing to commit criminal offences in breach of the 1990 Act.

It added that the officers and managers of Tower Hamlets, including Mayor Lutfur Rahman, were also personally guilty of criminal offences if the failure to remove the flags was due to their neglect.

In his letter detailing the council's decision to remove the flags, Mayor Rahman said he believed that "those who have erected these flags across the borough have done so in line with our strong tradition of solidarity, and I reject that they are symbols of division".

However, he said Palestinian flags would be lowered from council-owned infrastructure based on advice from the council's chief executive.

Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKLFI, said: “After months of ignoring the voice of a significant number of Jewish and other residents of Tower Hamlets, we are pleased that Lutfur Rahman has at last been forced, following our threat of a legal action, to remove the divisive and inflammatory flags."

A council spokesperson said that, up until now, the London borough had decided not to remove flags because it believed it "could destabilise community cohesion".

They added: "However, the increasing focus on the issue, coupled with some unfair and divisive sentiment about our borough and its communities in recent weeks, has meant that the issue of flags has become part of a wider negative discourse used by some to misrepresent Tower Hamlets and our residents.

“Our overriding responsibility has always been, and remains, to support our communities, and we are concerned about the effect on them.

“As a result, the council has decided to begin the removal of flags from council infrastructure."

Adam Carey