MoD doubles spending on Union flags as ‘reminder of ties that bind’

DEFENCE spending on Union flags has doubled in two years in an effort to “remind us of the ties that bind us” as the SNP continues to push for independence.

Government figures show total spending on flags increased by nearly 70 per cent over three years.

The move is understood to be part of the Government’s campaign to shore up the union as the SNP continues to lobby for an independence vote in Scotland and Unionists in Northern Ireland complain that the Brexit Protocol has drawn the UK border down the Irish Sea.

Responding to a Freedom of Information request, the MoD said that in the financial year 2018-19 it spent £136,649 on flags, of which £25,351 were on Union flags alone. By 2020-21, the figures were £231,096 and £54,564 respectively, a jump of 69 per cent overall and 115 per cent for Union flags.

In the 2019-20 financial year, government spending on flags other than the Union Jack leapt to £253,549.

The data show spending by the MoD under a central defence contract.

The Secretariat of Defence Equipment and Support, the MoD department responsible for purchasing kit, said the figures did not provide details for flags that might have been purchased by military units, such as Army regiments, Navy ships and shore establishments and RAF bases.

These parts of the Armed Forces are “not obliged to use the contract and are free to purchase flags under their own local arrangements”, the MoD said. A government spokesman said: “The Government is proud to fly the Union flag as a reminder of our history and the ties that bind us. A large number of flags are used for ceremonial and non-ceremonial events, including national commemorations and state visits, and will regularly be replaced when damaged beyond repair.”

The Government is keen for the Union flag to be more visible, especially as it seeks to breathe life into the “global Britain” brand.

Mhairi Black, an SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, said: “It speaks volumes that the Tories think an overload of Union flags is the answer to promoting the strength of the Union. Flags won’t undo the poverty and hardship the Tories have created over the last decade.”