An outraged taxi driver has hit back at a council that banned him from flying a Union Flag from his car.
Basil Brockhurst, an ex-Armed Forces serviceman who runs Basil’s Taxi, is locked in a battle with Shropshire Council, as representatives have told him not to fly the United Kingdom’s flag from his cab.
Mr Brockhurst already flies the flag from his Shropshire home. The property is also laden with Remembrance Day decor, including a metal “Lest We Forget” sign proudly displayed on his front fence.
But he has struggled to keep similarly patriotic attire on his car, including two UK flags that, on the surface, would seem uncontroversial.
He is battling with Shropshire Council’s guidance stating that licensed vehicles cannot display signs advocating social or political causes.
Shropshire Council passed the Hackney Carriage and Private Vehicles Licensing Policy in 2023, which requires cabs not to display signage depicting “political, racial, cultural, sexual or potentially offensive language”.
The two flags Mr Brockhurst wants to fly are one Union Flag bearing the sigil of his Army unit, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, and a straightforward St George’s Cross with “England” emblazoned across the middle.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Brockhurst said he received an email from the council on October 17 stating he “was in breach of advertising standards” and had to remove them.
He said: “I was not happy, I was quite perturbed. Thirty years of service to Queen and country in Northern Ireland, Iraq, then suddenly I’m told I cannot display the cross of St George or the Union Jack.”
GB News host Patrick Christys took to social media to slam the council’s decision. He wrote: “This is an absolute disgrace. The Union Flag is our flag. Everywhere you go now there are Palestine and Ukraine flags. They are much more ‘divisive’. This country has lots its mind.”
The cabbie is now receiving assistance from Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan and Shropshire Council’s deputy leader to have the policy partially rewritten.
Under revisions proposed by the local politicians, Shropshire cabbies will be able to display an A4-sized Union Flag in their cars.
The policy changes have now been given the green light, but they have had some resistance from Shropshire councillors.
Green Party councillor Mike Isherwood said it is “needlessly divisive” to introduce flags to taxis, especially if it is only displaying one nation’s flag.
He called for a “neutral policy” on waving flags, adding the current agreements best suit this goal.
Mr Brockhurst has taken quick advantage of the changes and has proudly emblazoned the bonnet of his car with a “Basil’s Taxi” logo that uses a Union Flag.
