Former Just Stop Oil tycoon Dale Vince has become embroiled in a row over a huge 30ft-tall Palestinian flag being flown on the front of his green energy firm’s HQ.
Locals in the town of Stroud in the Cotswolds have demanded the long-time Labour donor and entrepreneur removes the banner from his office building.
They have raised concerns that symbols from foreign wars have no place in their quaint community in Gloucestershire.
However, Mr Vince, who founded the electricity company Ecotricity, has hit back – saying most complaints are from ‘shady lawyers’ acting for Israel.
Marcus, who did not share his second name, told The Telegraph: ‘It’s out of order. I don’t think that flag should be flown in Stroud.’
Meanwhile, Lindsey Green, the leader of the Conservative group on Stroud District Council, said several constituents had contacted her with concerns about the flag.
‘I do take umbrage with anyone who flouts our planning rules and we cannot have a rule for one and a rule for another,’ she said.
‘A more appropriate approach would be for [Vince] to try lobbying his MP for action in Gaza instead.’
Former Just Stop Oil tycoon Dale Vince has become embroiled in a row over a huge 30ft-tall Palestinian flag being flown on the front of his green energy firm’s HQ
Locals in the town of Stroud in the Cotswolds have demanded Mr Vince (pictured) removes the banner from his office building
Mr Vince has now been told by the Green-run local council, he must apply for planning permission to fly the flag, which hangs over two storeys of his energy firm’s HQ.
Flags of nations, which are not currently recognised by the UK Government such as Palestine, require planning permission to be flown.
Mr Vince, however, said he is not going to submit an application to the council, nor is he going to take the flag down.
He said that he thought the council is ‘wrong’ when it comes to planning law and that it comes down to a ‘moral issue’.
Mr Vince added that he believes most of the complaints about the flag have come from ‘shady lawyers’ acting on behalf of the Israeli government.
He also criticised what he described as double standards in Western nations given the Ukrainian flag has been flown across the UK since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
The row in Stroud comes as an increasingly bitter war over flags brews across Britain.
In Birmingham, council officials have started ripping down Union flags and the red and white St George’s Cross from lampposts amid claims they posed a safety risk.
A man was today filmed confronting workers removing the flags in Tower Hamlets, asking an official: ‘Who’s your boss who’s asked you to do it?’
The council previously came under fire for allowing Palestinian flags to be displayed on council buildings and lampposts after the conflict in Gaza began (seen in 2024)
Hundreds of St George’s flags and Union Jacks were hung up around several areas in the south of Birmingham
However, the backlash to the decision only deepened after officials privately admitted they were too scared to take down Palestine flags without extra security.
Moreover, in Tower Hamlets in east London, a furious Londoner was filmed confronting workers tearing down St George’s Crosses on the orders of the council.
The authority previously prided itself on its displays of Palestine flags, but said any England banners attached to council property by an online movement called ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ would be promptly removed.
The initiative has spread to towns and cities including Bradford, Newcastle, Norwich and Swindon – with activists putting up English flags and Union Jacks in defiance of council bans.
An activist was today filmed confronting workers removing the flags in Tower Hamlets, asking an official: ‘Who’s your boss who’s asked you to do it?’
When the official refused to answer, he continued: ‘The whole of the Isle of Dogs has paid for these flags to be hung, for you to authorise for them to be taken down. What about all the Palestine flags?’
Turning to a nearby community support police officer, the man added: ‘The rest of the flags that we have brought with our own money he has thrown in the bin, that’s theft.’