Tower Hamlets Council Accused of Breaking Law by Not Removing Palestinian Flags and Stickers

Undated images of allegedly inflammatory posters about the Israel-Hamas conflict put up in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. UK Lawyers for Israel

A London council has been accused of breaching planning laws by refusing to remove Palestinian flags and “inflammatory” posters and stickers from lampposts in the borough.

UK Lawyers For Israel (UKLFI), a charitable trust, has written to the Metropolitan Police accusing Tower Hamlets Council in east London of breaching planning laws, which require local authorities to remove offensive stickers and flags.

Several Jewish residents of the borough complained to the National Jewish Assembly, which raised the matter with the UKLFI, which has written to the Met, pointing out that under section 224(4)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act, the owner of the land commits a criminal offence if they do not “take all reasonable steps” to remove offensive flags, posters or stickers.

‘Displays Intimidate Jewish People’

In a statement published on their website on Friday, Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKLFI, said: “Our attention has been drawn to serious concerns on the part of Jewish residents of Tower Hamlets regarding the proliferation of large Palestine flags on lamp-posts in public streets as well as posters and stickers with inflammatory content. These displays intimidate Jewish people and may encourage violence against them.”

In a letter to the Met, the UKLFI said: “We believe that many of the flags, posters and stickers are displayed on land owned or occupied by Tower Hamlets Council. The council has not taken all reasonable steps to secure the removal of flags, posters and stickers on its land and therefore has committed and is committing criminal offences.”

In 2010, a referendum was held, and the people of Tower Hamlets voted to switch to a directly-elected mayor system. Lutfur Rahman was elected to the position later that year.

But Rahman was later convicted of electoral fraud and banned from political office for five years, only to win another mayoral election in 2022, ousting Labour’s John Biggs.

Tower Hamlets covers a large swathe of east London, including historic districts like Bethnal Green, Bow, Stepney and Whitechapel, many of which became home to an influx of Jewish immigrants fleeing pogroms in eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century.

But a later wave of immigrants came from Bangladesh and today 32 percent of the borough is of Bengali origin, including Rahman.

Rahman, who was originally elected as a Labour mayor but later fell out with the party, formed his own party, Aspire, and was elected in 2022 on their ticket. Upon his election, he promised to rid the borough of unpopular Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, which Mr. Biggs had introduced.

Tower Hamlets has one of the highest percentages of Muslims in London and the Israel-Hamas war has led to a big rise in the number of pro-Palestinian flags and posters being put up.

After Hamas terrorists crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel and murdered 1,200 people, including a number of children, Israel hit back with air attacks and then a ground offensive.

The Hamas-run health authority in Gaza says 22,000 Palestinians have been killed and 85 percent of the area’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced.

Hamas has released 110 hostages it took during the Oct. 7/8 atrocities but Israel claims it still holds around 100.

Council Has a ‘Tension Monitoring Group’

A spokesman for Tower Hamlets’ council told the Telegraph, “As one of the most diverse areas in the country, we are monitoring any community tensions closely with our tension monitoring group, which includes the police and representatives from a broad range of community organisations.”

He added: “A number of Palestinian flags have been put up by the public in recent months. While we appreciate people want to express their support for Palestine, we have a routine responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure. The situation is under regular review.”

“Separately to Palestinian flags, the council will remove at the earliest opportunity any graffiti, posters or flags which are racist or generally offensive. We are not aware of any criminal offences related to Palestinian flags not being removed, and we will continue to work closely with police partners to manage the situation,” he added.