Birmingham City Council will remove Palestinian flags from lamp-posts owned by the council, following letters from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).

UKLFI had been contacted by Birmingham residents who had been upset by the flags.  One resident had  commented that the flags were “a creep towards sectarianism in this country, which must be resisted at all costs”.

UKLFI wrote  to Birmingham Council in April and in May 2024,  drawing the Council’s attention to relevant provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements)(England) Regulations 2007.

Under this legislation flags are regarded as a kind of advertisement and displaying them in public places requires planning permission unless they are covered by one of the exceptions. In this case, displaying the flags was illegal without the permission of Birmingham Council as owner of the lamp posts.

Birmingham Council responded on 24 May saying “We write in response to your letters dated 18th April 2024 and 14th May 2024 respectively and note your concerns in relation to the display of Palestinian flags at various sites. We thank you for bringing the matter to our attention and can confirm that the issues raised have been investigated by relevant service areas within the City Council. …. In respect of the 3 locations stated to be within the public highway, arrangements will be made by the relevant service areas to remove the flags at those locations.”

One resident who had complained about the flags said: “Many thanks for pursuing this, both in Birmingham and elsewhere across the UK”.

A UKLFI spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the flags are going to be removed, having remained in place for several months, and upset many residents of the area, both Jewish and non-Jewish.”