Birmingham City Council is set to present its case before a High Court judge today, seeking an injunction to prevent activists from erecting flags across the city without official permission.
The activists, organised under the group Raise the Colours and led by founders Ryan Bridge and Elliot Stanley, will defend their actions during the hearing at Birmingham Civil Courts this morning, Tuesday 8 September.
Supporters of the group include Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who publicly commended Raise the Colours during his party’s conference at the NEC this past weekend and indicated he would explore options to offer legal backing.
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The council has launched the legal action in response to complaints from residents and evidence provided by police, citing incidents of intimidating, abusive, and divisive behaviour connected to the flag-raising activities.
The hearing, scheduled for three hours, will be held before Her Honour Judge Emma Kelly sitting as the High Court.
Court documents filed by the council and now made public describe this move as a last resort, necessitated by the scale and nature of the flagging activity. An estimated 20,000 flags are reported to be flying across Birmingham and its surrounding areas.
The legal papers cite video footage and photos, some produced by the flaggers themselves, documenting instances of abuse, threats, and intimidation, which the council argues present a significant public safety concern.
Central to the case is the assertion that since August 2025, the defendants have been attaching flags to various street furniture-including lampposts, lighting columns, signs, railings, bridges, and barriers-without obtaining the council’s consent or any statutory authorisation.
Waqar Ahmed, the council’s Director of Community Safety, Resilience and Cohesion, states in his witness statement: “The defendants have not conducted themselves peacefully. Their behaviour has been aggressive, involving harassment and intimidation directed at local communities and residents.”
The statement further details that these activities occur at all hours, unlawfully affixing flags and causing disruption. The flaggers have reportedly confronted residents opposed to their campaign, as well as council contractors tasked with removing flags. The council alleges this includes tortious and criminal acts which are both anti-social and hazardous, contravening Section 132 of the Highways Act 1980 and creating public nuisances.
Additional accusations involve creating serious physical and psychological risks to highway users, council staff, and residents. Reported incidents include verbal abuse with racial and sexist slurs, violent threats, property damage, and targeting individuals for filming and online intimidation.
Specific examples involve trespassing on council property, obscuring traffic enforcement cameras and road signs with flags, and aggressive or confrontational approaches to residents-sometimes recorded in close proximity.
One notable incident cited occurred in May of this year when a resident suffered a broken leg after being struck by a cherry picker; police investigations into this matter are ongoing. Similar events have been noted in Alvechurch, Moseley, and Stirchley.
Ryan Bridge, 45, from Bromsgrove, the most prominent defendant, expressed shock at the legal challenge. Speaking to BirminghamLive, he described himself as “a patriot” supported by many Birmingham residents and denied any misconduct. He characterised the legal action as a politically motivated attempt to silence him for raising concerns about illegal immigration.
Bridge, along with six others-Julian Keane (aka ‘Elon’), Elliot Stanley, Ross Childs (‘Ross the Don’), Billy Allison, Ben Cullen, and Mark Keating-are the named defendants in the council’s injunction application which seeks to prevent unauthorised flag-raising on public property.
He has called upon supporters for legal aid and financial contributions and has urged them to demonstrate by “raising the flags” outside the court during the hearing.
The Reform UK party, both nationally and locally, has criticised the injunction attempt, calling it “a waste of time and resources.”
It is noteworthy that any ruling issued by the court will apply broadly to all individuals erecting flags of any nation or cause on council-owned structures without prior authorization.
BirminghamLive will provide live coverage of the hearing as it unfolds today.