Overview
- The High Court injunction, issued on Friday, July 31, bars unnamed people from attaching Union or St George’s Cross flags to lampposts, signs or other public highway structures or from painting insignia on roads in Oxfordshire.
- Mr Justice Dexter Dias warned that breaching the order could lead to seizure of assets, unlimited fines or imprisonment and made a separate injunction against one named campaign member while three others gave undertakings to stop flag activity.
- The council told the court it had repeatedly removed flags since August 2025 but replacements continued and removal teams faced abuse, doxxing and threats that left staff using face coverings and checking vehicles for trackers.
- Oxfordshire says it will seek to recover removal and legal costs that it has recorded from the campaign, and the order covers only public highway infrastructure while allowing residents to fly flags on private property.
- Coverage of the ruling divides along political lines, with some voices calling the injunction an overreach against patriotic displays and others stressing links between the campaign and far‑right groups and the wider public‑safety rationale behind the court action.