Council flew Pride Flag 'without proper consent'

A Progress Pride flag at the centre of a row between Reform UK and the chief executive of Warwickshire County Council should not have been flown as the authority did not have the correct permission to fly it, it has been revealed.

The discovery came after Monica Fogarty, the chief executive, refused to remove the flag before the end of Pride month, following a written request from the authority's interim leader, Reform UK's George Finch.

Warwick District Council said advertising consent was required to fly the Progress flag and, while an application was not submitted, neither had it received an official complaint.

The BBC has approached the county council for a response.

The row started when Finch requested the flag be removed after he replaced Rob Howard as the authority's leader.

Ms Fogarty responded to the acting leader in an email and said the authority did not have a "formal policy" for flying flags.

She suggested Finch should look for the council to vote on one if he wished to introduce it.

Reform UK previously accused the chief executive of a "coup d'etat", in a claim made by the party's head of government efficiency, Zia Yusuf.

Nigel Farage, the party's leader, took to X and suggested Ms Fogarty believed she "knew better than the people" and she "should look for a new job".

A spokesperson for Warwick District Council, the planning authority for Warwick, said "advertising consent" was needed to fly the Progress Flag and they did not get an application for it to be flown at the county council's headquarters, Shire Hall, in the county town.

"The council has not received an enforcement complaint, so there is no active enforcement investigation," they added.

The Progress flag, which was flown outside the headquarters in Warwick, differs from the Rainbow flag as a result of adaptations over the years.

It includes colours such as black, brown, pink, pale blue and white stripes, to represent marginalised people of colour in the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the trans community and those living with HIV/AIDS.

Reform does not have overall control of the council in Warwickshire, although it is the largest party.

The group has been contacted by the BBC for their response to the authority's omitted consent application.

The Progress Flag has since been removed from Shire Hall following the end of Pride Month.

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