A ROW over Union Jack and England flags being taken down in Birmingham has sparked a surge in interest in UK flag laws.
The controversy erupted after Birmingham City Council removed the flags from lampposts, citing health and safety concerns.
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Locals have since retaliated by painting St George's Crosses on roundabouts and flying British flags in streets and homes, prompting the council to raise some flags again.
UK law on flags is largely permissive, with local planning rules specifying which flags can be flown without needing permission.
These include the Union Jack, England's St George's Cross, Scotland's Saltire, Wales' Y Ddraig Goch, and Northern Ireland's Union Flag or historic St Patrick's Saltire.
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Other flags exempt from permission include national flags of any country, the Commonwealth, the UN, local UK areas, historic counties, armed forces, sports clubs, Rainbow/Pride, NHS, and certain awards or environmental flags.
Flags must not carry advertisements and must meet size restrictions if flown from poles. There is no official list of banned flags in the UK, including the Nazi Swastika, though context matters.
Displaying a flag to intimidate or threaten can count as a criminal offence, such as draping a Nazi flag outside a synagogue.
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The Terrorism Act 2000 proscribes over 70 organisations, and flying flags linked to them publicly may be illegal.
Police Scotland previously identified 15 flags that could breach the peace if flown provocatively or altered, including: Orange Order, King William of Orange, Sunburst, Starry Plough, Vatican City, Irish Tricolour, Ulster Banner, Province of Ulster, Leinster, 4 Provinces, Ulster Independence, Catalan, Basque, Palestinian, and Israeli flags.
Official guidance stresses that a flag itself is not illegal, but modification to reference a banned organisation or use to provoke may constitute an offence.
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