A furious row erupted at the summit of Mount Snowdon after Raise the Colours founder Ryan Bridge was challenged by a group of walkers while displaying a Union Jack and shouting “stop the boats”. Bridge, 45, was confronted by several people who accused him of spreading hate speech and questioned why he was bringing anti-immigration slogans to one of Wales’s most popular walking destinations.
Bridge defended his message, yelling: “Stop the boats and the illegal invasion of our country.” The disagreement quickly escalated, with the group questioning whether his actions amounted to patriotism or were making other visitors uncomfortable in the otherwise bucolic spot.
Walkers Challenge Bridge
One of the walkers challenged Bridge over why he was shouting about immigration while others were trying to enjoy their day out. “Everybody's here coming up, climbing, having a nice day, and you're here,” the person said, before criticising the vulgar language being used.
Bridge rejected the suggestion that his message is hateful and insisted his position is about immigration rules rather than race or religion. “This isn't about race, religion, colour, creed,” he said. “This is about someone breaking into a country illegally.”
He went on to argue that people should enter the UK through legal routes and with the appropriate documentation. “If you come through the front door legally with passports, documents, fine,” he said. “If you come through illegally with no documents, then you're not welcome.”
Accusations of Generalising Migrants
But one of the walkers accused him of generalising migrants, arguing that his slogans risk painting people from very different backgrounds with the same brush. The exchange then turned to the identities of those challenging him, with Bridge asking what they do for a living. One responded that the group of eight mixed-race people is about to qualify as doctors and will be working for the NHS.
Bridge claimed he has several companies and employs a multicultural workforce, using this to argue that his position is not about race. Bridge is the Director of two active companies and two dissolved. Public records indicate that the entities under his control currently lack an active public-facing digital footprint or commercial web presence.
Bridge's Background and Charges
Bridge is the founder of Raise the Colours, a campaign group known for putting up Union Jack and St George's Cross flags on lampposts and other public structures across England. In September, Thames Valley Police confirmed that Bridge had been charged with 14 offences relating to reported incidents in Oxfordshire over a two-month period beginning on 31 January.
The charges include seven counts of using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress; three counts relating to threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour intended to cause fear of or provoke unlawful violence; two counts of racially aggravated intentional harassment; one count of racially aggravated fear of violence; and one count of common assault. He is set to appear in Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 3 November.
