A row in Manchester over the raising of a Union Jack has been captured on video.
Union Jack flags were put up along Market Street and in Piccadilly Gardens (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
A bitter row over a Union Jack flag raised over a footbridge in south Manchester has been caught on camera. In recent days, grassroots ‘Operation Raise The Colours’ has seen members of the public put up Union Jacks or St George’s Cross flags on bridges and lamp-posts across the country.
In the centre of Manchester on August 27, Union Jack flags were put up along Market Street and in Piccadilly Gardens. There were reports to police that groups of men putting up the flags were “harassing” people walking past.
The confrontation was captured on camera (Image: Pablo O’Hara)
Political advisor Pablo O’Hana, was cycling along Wilmslow Road through Didsbury on the way to the gym on Wednesday when he spotted a Union Jack and England flag cable tied to a bridge above his head.
He told the MEN that he removed the two flags, arguing that they were “being used to cause division” before he was confronted by a man from a local pub.
In the footage which he filmed, Pablo was asked if he had taken them down by the man, to which he replies: “Yeah, I did, yeah.”
When asked why by the other man in the footage, Pablo responded: “Because that’s not what our country is mate.”
“I put the f****rs up,” the other man responded, before asking: “What the f*** do you think you’re doing son?”.
He went on: “F*** off you d***head” before climbing up the stairs to try and retrieve them.
Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, three roundabouts in Trafford and road junctions in Sale were also painted with a red cross to resemble the flag as well as a roundabout in Fitton Hill in Oldham.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham last week suggested that people painting the crosses might be “seeking confrontation”. Speaking on BBC Radio, he said: “You can obviously display a flag if that’s your choice but I don’t know, I do wonder about the times we’re living in.
