GB News’ Martin Daubney blasted a local authority that cancelled a £9,000 contract with a tree surgeon after he hoisted flags around town.
Bill Crotty first made headlines earlier this summer after putting up St George’s crosses and Union Jack flags on the A1198 near the village of Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire.
He told GB News he had a £9,000 job cancelled with Steeple Morden Parish Council after hoisting almost 300 flags around the area.
The patriot was hopping on the movement “Operation Raise the Colours”, which saw hordes of proud Britons painting mini-roundabouts with St George’s Crosses and cable-tying Union Jacks to lampposts.
While some have claimed the movement fostered patriotism, others hit out at the trend saying that it encouraged division and racism.
Now, sitting down on the People’s Channel, the local shared his story with Martin, who appeared flabbergasted by the flag fanatic’s tale.
“He’s been cancelled over a council getting into a flap over some flags,” the GB News star fumed.
Marvelling at Mr Crotty’s work, Martin commented: “Magnificent independent flapping all over the area. But they saw your flags and they gave you the chop.”
Martin was nonplussed at the news while he spoke with Bill Crotty in the studio
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GB NEWS
Mr Crotty explained how he had been working for the council “for a long, long time” without a problem right up until they “got wind” of his flag hoisting tendencies.
“I just got a call out of the blue. I’d put everything in place to come in and do the job. I was shocked by it, really,” he admitted to Martin.
“As you said, 99.9 per cent of people have absolutely no problem with them whatsoever,” Martin added.
Mr Crotty further heaped blame on the “letter-writing class”, adding: “I think the average man on the street over the moon, to see the flags, they brighten the place up.
“But it’s a small minority of people that make themselves very busy.”
“I want to ask you, Billy, because I’ve had a lot of lads in the studio and on the show.
FLAGS IN BRITAIN – READ MORE:
Mr Crotty hoisted 300 flags around his town
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BILLY CROTTY
“They’ve been putting up flags and they always tell me the same thing. The people who complain seem to be white, middle-class and woke. Have you found that too?” Martin asked.
In response, the tree surgeon recalled how he had received great support from his fellow patriots, who are Sikh, in the area.
“You’ve hit the nail on the head there about the people who are upset and they go out of their way to be upset, to be quite honest,” Mr Crotty concurred.
An email sent to Mr Crotty by Steeple Morden Parish Council, seen by GB News, dated September 21, said an order had been made for the removal of leylandii trees.
The email read: “The Council has recently reviewed its position and, in light of recent public events in which your organisation has been prominently involved, it has concluded that proceeding with this order at the present time could create perceptions of alignment or endorsement that the Council, as a public body, must avoid.
“The Council does not wish to take or appear to take a position on these matters and must therefore withdraw the order.
“We stress that this decision is based solely on the Council’s responsibility to maintain neutrality and should not be seen as a reflection on the quality of your services or the merits of the issues involved.”
Chairman of Steeple Morden Parish Council, Nick Badger, told the People’s Channel: “At the time, there was intense press interest in Bill Crotty and his flag raising.
“As a parish council, we are a non-political organisation and as such we remain neutral on the matter and therefore felt it necessary to withdraw the contract.”