A man who cut down a Union Flag in Swindon is a former parliamentary candidate, a Wiltshire 999s investigation has revealed.
Andy Bentley, who stood to be an MP for the Green Party at the 2024 General Election, has admitted bringing down the flag from a lamppost in Pinehurst earlier this week.
He said the flag appeared ‘sad’, and had been hung at half-mast and upside down – taking it upon himself to remove it with a pair of loppers. His actions were caught on CCTV.
Explaining his motivation, Andy told Wiltshire 999s: ‘I first saw the flag hanging from a lamppost while out walking the dogs a couple of weeks ago. It seemed rather out of place, stuck at the end of a cul-de-sac road where there are no other flags flying.
‘It looked a bit sad, flying at half-mast and upside down. It was only after seeing it that I looked into the campaign that is going about.
‘I could understand it if it was a truly patriotic effort, like to support the English Red Roses in their current rugby World Cup campaign. But it’s not.’
He told of how the movement Operation Raise the Colours appears to have been ‘started by a bunch of far-right English nationalists’, and was not about pride in Great Britain.
‘As well as the hanging of flags, there has been the vandalism of road markings and buildings, often accompanied by racist graffiti and verbal abuse’, he added.
Andy believes the campaign is ‘tied in with hate of foreigners and immigrants’, so decided to remove the Union Flag from a lamppost in Hawthorn Avenue.
Adding that it is ‘tied in with hate of foreigners and immigrants’, Andy said he removed it with a cutting tool he was equipped with as he returned from volunteering in a forest.
‘The person who hung this particular flag might be unaware of the background to the campaign, they too might be horrified by the views of the far-right, racist groups that are behind it.
‘I couldn’t stand to see that campaign take root in my neighbourhood.
‘Cutting the flag down was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I’d been doing some volunteer work in the local forest, so I had the perfect tool with me to cut the zip-ties on my way home.
‘At least that’s one flag we won’t have to pay to be removed out of our council tax. It’s a shame the same can’t be said of all the zebra crossings and roundabouts that have been vandalised.
‘I’m as patriotic as the next person. If you want to support the Roses in their next match I say go for it – hang your England flags proudly from your windows, or put up your own flagpole.
‘But don’t just stick it halfway up some random lamppost at the end of the street. And if you’re going to fly the Union Jack, please hang it the right way up!’
Andy denies being involved in the removal of any other flags around Swindon.
Did you install the flag in Hawthorn Avenue? Contact our news team on 07794 802 940.
