A group of 30 flaggers spent weeks planning a 'military-like operation' to bypass security and hang 'Stop The Boats' Union Jacks from Clifton Suspension Bridge, the man behind the plan has said.
The activists unfurled their message for only five minutes on the iconic bridge outside Bristol before security tore the flags down. Some of the group belong to the controversial organisation Raise The Colours.
A five-minute stunt
Danny, known as Flag Man UK, told Metro: 'We were on and off that bridge within five minutes. But I buggered it up I forgot to change the memory card in my drone, so I didn't get the video.'
He said guards became aware of their actions as they left. 'So on the side that I entered, the guard was all right when he came out. The other side they were a bit hostile until I walked over and had to chat with them. Even the guard said to me, "that was amazing, how quick you were in and out."'
Footage apparently shows security trying to wrestle with the group, with one guard pushing a camera out of his face as he tries to drive the nationalists away. The cameraman vows to make him famous on social media.
Why he chose the bridge
Danny, who says he has 'flagged Stonehenge before', said he chose Clifton Suspension Bridge to show 'if everyone comes together, we can do anything'.
The self-described 'anonymous figure' from Lowestoft, Suffolk claims to have launched the flag movement that has swept the country. Flags have become omnipresent, hung outside ethnic minority businesses and homes to mark them and used to intimidate occupants of migrant hotels.
But Danny insists he is not racist and has more black friends than white friends. He spends Christmas with his Muslim father figure, who stepped into his life when his father passed away. He also filmed himself hanging a Pride flag in Weston-Super-Mare to prove he is inclusive.
Explaining why racists and anti-migrant far-right thugs are drawn to the movement, which he claims 'should be a peaceful thing', he said: 'You know they're annoyed that these people are coming here and getting what they're not got. They get angry and confrontational because that's the terminology they have. I think that all of this has become frustrating for everybody. I've got videos of my lads getting pushed off ladders and attacked too.'
The promise to stop
One thing would make all the relentless flagging end, he said.
'My promise is, if Andy Burnham ends homelessness, I'll stop putting the flags up. I'll stop everyone. I'll go round. I'll remove them all. But you know, they just won't.'
He said other 'flaggers' have become obsessed with immigration whereas he is about 'fairness'. 'I've got nothing against immigration. Like half my team, my admin is Hungarian. My best friend who flags with me all the time – his whole family are from Jamaica. And to be totally honest, I don't blame anyone for breaking into our country you know, if I was in their shoes, I'd probably do the same.'
'But then I look at these people who are living on the streets, who are addicted to drugs, who just need somebody to talk to, got mental health issues, and they can't get any help. They're like the forgotten people, but yet we're welcoming people breaking into our country and giving them hotels.'
Deaths in the Channel
Speaking on a day when four migrants died while trying to reach the UK via the Channel, Danny said: 'I think it's the saddest thing in the world to see that happening. To see someone be that desperate. There is only one way to stop it, and that's to stop the boats completely. Letting them in like that only encourages more. We've got their blood on our hands.'
Charity Safe Passage International described the latest deaths as 'devastating and avoidable' while calling on the Government to 'take accountability for the lack of safe routes for refugees'. Danny said he agrees, adding: 'Really, what we should do is open up the Channel Tunnel and say, "Stop the dinghies, come through our tunnel."'
Flags from China
Danny also claims to have sent out 100,000 United Kingdom flags to people up and down the country – all bought from China.
'Sadly it is just much cheaper. If the materials were made in the UK it would be at least twice the price. It's all coming from abroad. Nothing's made here in the UK anymore. So what we've done now is I buy the fabric, I buy the art from China and then we assemble them here in the UK.'
Asked what keeps him going, he said: 'What keeps me doing it? It's when you go and see a homeless veteran who's got absolutely nothing, right? And you go and see them, and they're a grown man. They cry and thank you for coming to see them and actually care. And when you get one or two people doing that to you, honestly, it brings tears to your eyes. My granddad died fighting for this country. They were proud as anything of that flag. It's crazy. How can anyone be put off by that?'
