Robert Jenrick has hit back at the Tories after they accused the Reform UK MP of starting a race row.
Reform UK’s economics spokesman condemned Cardiff council for hoisting Pakistan’s flag above the city’s castle, describing it as an “attempt to dominate our culture.”
In a Facebook post, Mr Jenrick wrote: “I am sick to death of foreign flags being hoisted above our historic buildings. Under a Reform government this pathetic submission ends and we will reassert our national identity.”
Welsh Conservative Senedd Member Natasha Asghar hit back, accusing Reform UK of deliberately inflaming racial tensions.
“I’m really fed up of Reform trying to fuel and start a race row,” she said, insisting that such flag-hoisting ceremonies represent “respect” and community integration rather than any kind of cultural “takeover.”
Responding to the accusations, Mr Jenrich said: “I see the Tories have accused me of ‘trying to start a race row’ for opposing the Pakistani flag being hoisted above Cardiff Castle.
“They have lost the plot. They somehow call it ‘integration’. Wrong. It’s an insult. Under a Reform Government, it will end. Pathetic attempts to cry foul will not stop us.
“The only flags flying over Cardiff Castle will be the Welsh dragon or the Union Flag.”
Cardiff council for hoisting Pakistan’s flag above the city’s castle
|
BBC
Cardiff’s Labour council leader Chris Weaver explained that the Pakistan flag was raised during a ceremony on August 9 and remained overnight before being displayed again on August 14 to coincide with Pakistan’s Independence Day.
He said: “The occasion provided an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the contribution of Pakistani communities to Cardiff’s diverse and multicultural city.”
The council also marked India’s Independence Day on August 15 in the same manner.
Mr Weaver said that the gesture was part of a long-established tradition of acknowledging significant dates at the castle, and that both the Welsh dragon and the Union Flag flew from the castle walls throughout.
Robert Jenrick has hit back at the Tories after they accused the Reform MP of starting a race row
|
GETTYHe said: “This whole furore has stemmed from misinformation, and it’s time for that to stop.”
Ms Asghar, the MS for Casnewydd Islwyn, is the daughter of former Senedd Member Mohammad Asghar, who was born in pre-partition India and raised in Pakistan.
She said she had personally attended numerous flag-raising events organised by Indian, Pakistani and Polish communities, calling them “fantastic events, well attended, from people from all different political walks of life.”
She urged Reform representatives to witness these gatherings firsthand to understand “how integration takes place, and how it’s not any form of takeover by any particular community, it’s just showing a form of respect to one another.”
A Reform Wales spokesman said that only the Welsh dragon or Union Flag should fly above historic landmarks
|
GETTY
Ms Asghar, who was not present at the ceremony featured in Jenrick’s post, also accused Reform of seizing on minor stories to distract the public from the party’s own negative coverage.
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said: “After an abysmal conference, Robert Jenrick is reaching for Reform’s favourite distraction – stir up division and hope nobody notices the chaos in his own party.”
She added that Welsh identity was not under threat from another nation’s flag.
Former Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies also questioned whether the council should be flying the flag at all.
A Reform Wales spokesman said that only the Welsh dragon or Union flag should fly above historic landmarks.