‘People think English flag is far Right’ claim criticised

LABOUR’S shadow sports minister was last night criticised for suggesting that people are increasingly reluctant to fly St George flags as they have become “synonymous with far-right ideology”.

Rosena Allin-khan claimed there was a “significant lack” of England banners on show during the World Cup, which she also suggested could be partly due to an ill-feeling towards Brexit.

In an interview with parliamentary magazine The House, Ms Allin-khan said: “I think that many people feel that flying a St George’s Cross is synonymous with far-right ideology and that sometimes prevents them from doing so because they don’t want to be perceived as such. I think there is a reluctance to do so because shops may not want to feel they’re not being welcoming to members of the community, and perhaps Brexit has a part to play in that.”

Last night, Conservative MPS branded her remarks as “outrageous”, with Daniel Kawczynski, the MP for Shrewsbury, telling The Daily Telegraph that his constituents would take “great offence” at the suggestion that flying the national colours implied they were “somehow political extremists”.

“In my constituency, a huge number of people were flying the flag,” he added.

The incident comes four years after Emily Thornberry, then shadow attorney general, was sacked after she appeared to mock a family’s terraced home draped in England flags.