A Police Liaison Officer has sparked outrage after snatching a Union Jack flag from a teenage protester in Newcastle.
Discussing the incident on GB News, US Political Reporter at the Daily Mail, Victoria Churchill, condemned the officer’s actions and declared that “having pride in your country is not controversial”.
Hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters gathered in Newcastle on Saturday to demonstrate against illegal migration.
In viral footage from the protest, a Police Liaison Officer is seen taking a Union Jack flag from a 16-year-old girl before walking away with it.
Victoria Churchill has hit out at footage of a police liaison officer snatching a Union Jack flag from a teenager at a Newcastle migrant hotel protest
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Reacting to the footage, Ms Churchill told GB News: “I couldn’t imagine this happening in the US, and I think I read some additional reporting on this that they allow just about every other country’s flag except the Union Jack in the UK.
“And I think pride in your country, whether that’s in the US or in the UK, should not be a controversial thing.”
Pointing out the age of the protester, the US Reporter praised the teenager for “standing up for her values” and displaying such patriotism.
She said: “Wanting to stand for the values that you were brought up with and wanting to carry them on into the next generation, especially younger voters, I think that that is a welcoming thing to see.
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A police liaison officer was seen snatching the flag from a 16-year-old at the protest
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“Because so many youth, again, whether that’s in the US or the UK, are being brainwashed into this multiculturalism, they are seeing the negatives of it, but of course, there’s positives to it as well.”
Revealing that she herself is an immigrant to the US, Ms Churchill stressed that the key issue with immigration today is a lack of “assimilation” once arriving in the country.
She explained: “I’ve grown up in areas with loads of immigrants, I’m an immigrant myself, and I have no problem with that.
“But talking about assimilation, I think when you come to a country, you need to be able to absorb the values of this country.”
Ms Churchill told GB News that having pride in your country is ‘not controversial’
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GB NEWS
Ms Churchill added: “I say one of the reasons I’m more patriotic is because I’m an immigrant, and there’s actually data to show this, that immigrants, at least in the US, have higher participation in civic institutions.
“They vote more because they realise kind of that burden that comes upon citizenry. And so many young people, I think, are so far removed from that. And so I think it’s actually good to show pride in your country like this young woman is doing.”
In a statement, Northumbria Police said: “We are aware of video clips circulating online in relation to an officer removing a flag from someone during protest activity in Newcastle on Saturday (August 27).
“It is important that these are put into context. To help keep people safe and minimise disruption, orders were put in place designating where protest activity could be held.
“Key to this was maintaining an area between protest groups. From the video, it appears that when a small number of people became close to a much larger protest group, action was taken to deescalate tensions and help ensure the safety of all present.
“We can confirm the flag was later returned. We have received a number of complaints in relation to this matter, which will be looked into.
“Throughout the day, officers responded to both planned and spontaneous protest activity and we will be reviewing what happened to identify any potential learning. We recognise the right to lawful protest is the key part of democracy which policing will uphold. In doing so the safety of everyone is our utmost priority and the activity on Saturday passed mainly without incident.”