BREXIT POSTER SPARKS ROW
A note put up inside a block of flats asking residents to speak only English now that Britain has left the European Union prompted fury and a police probe in the east England town of Norwich.
LONDON : A crudely worded note put up inside a block of flats asking residents to speak only English now that Britain has left the EU prompted fury and a police probe in the east England town of Norwich.
Residents whose mother tongue is not English should return to their countries of origin, the poster said, insisting that people now speak only “Queen’s English”.
The block of 95 flats – Winchester Tower – is managed by the local council housing people in need of accommodation. The anonymous poster under the heading ‘Happy Brexit Day’ was quickly removed but its image has been widely shared on social media.
It comes in the context of a rise in racist incidents in the
UK since the 2016 EU referendum. “We finally have our country back”, the poster said, adding: “We do not tolerate people speaking other languages than English in these flats. We are now our own country again and the Queens English is the spoken tongue here.”
It soon evoked strong reaction after its image went viral and the local press reported it prominently.
Mike Stonard, a cabinet member in the Norwich City Council, told The Eastern Daily Press: “I absolutely condemn this abhorrent poster. Whoever put it there has committed a hate crime, it is as simple as that”.
“Many people voted for
Brexit for a range of different reasons however I am sure not many of them will condone this kind of thing.”
A council spokesman said: “Norwich has a proud history of being a welcoming city and we will not tolerate this behaviour. As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we reported it to the police and they are investigating. We take this very seriously”.
Television presenter Jake Humphrey tweeted an image of the poster and said: “This trending photo from a door in Norwich makes me livid & embarrassed. Norwich is the most tolerant, accepting, loving city I have ever lives in or visited.”