Campaigners from Mudiad Eryr Wen tear down a flag near Wrexham’s Cae Ras stadium (Image: Mudiad Eryr Wen)
England and Union flags have been torn down from lampposts by activists demanding independence for Wales. Members of Mudiad Eryr Wen (MEW), which translates from Welsh to English as “White Eagle Movement”, removed flags that were flying near Cae Ras Stadium where Wrexham AFC is based.
MEW describes itself as a “grassroots youth movement” campaigning for an independent Wales. It claims to have removed Union, St George Cross and Ulster loyalist flags, arguing all three have “absolutely nothing to do with Wales”.
A video posted by the group shows a Welsh nationalist removing what looks like an England flag from a lamppost while an accomplice steadies a ladder they are perched on.
Mudiad Eryr Wen told the Daily Post: “Last weekend, Mudiad Eryr Wen activists in Wrecsam removed a number of flags that had been raised on lampposts along the Mld Road.”
The group insisted the flags symbolise English supremacy in Wales and elsewhere, adding: “It is an absolute embarrassment and a stain on the town to have them on display, especially just up the road from the Cae Ras.”
MEW said “infuriated” locals called for the flags to be removed. The group said: “Union Jacks have never been tolerated in the stands at Wrecsam, which speaks volumes about the sort of people putting them up.
“When this English nationalist fad of raising cheap flags first came to the area last year, it was local MEW activists that tore down both the English and ‘British’ flags from over the A483 near Rhiwabon. If need be, they will do so again.”
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The group was alluding to Operation Raise the Colours, a campaign that saw St George’s Cross and Union flags attached to lampposts across the UK by some members of the public.
Critics of the campaign argue it is racist and divisive while supporters defend their actions, insisting the flags are displays of patriotism.
Cae Ras is celebrated by Welsh nationalists as the sporting heart of north Wales. The stadium is widely considered to be the oldest international football stadium in the world still in use.
News of the group’s action came after councils in England said flags attached to public infrastructure without permission would be removed.
Local authorities in Blackpool, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire have already taken action after Operation Raise the Colours launched its nationwide campaign last summer.
