Unionists urged to call out Union flags with offensive language attacking Irish

Unionist politicians have been urged to condemn outright the use of obscene slogans on a Union flag to attack the Irish language.

The flags, which include a Belfast City Council logo, have been placed on lampposts on Belfast’s Lisburn Road, close to the city centre.

The council has said it does not condone the use of its logo, while the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has said it was engaging with the PSNI to “identify the most effective ways to tackle this problem”.

There have been calls for the flags to be removed as Belfast prepares to host next month’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the first time.

The only unionist party to comment publicly on the flags has been TUV, whose spokesperson said it “recognises the considerable anger within the unionist community when it comes to the Irish language”.

However, the spokesperson added that the Union flag should not be defaced and “needs treated with respect”.

SDLP councillor Gary McKeown called the display a “pathetic act of attention-seeking”.

“It does little more than demonstrate a lack of cultural and political self-confidence among those responsible,” he said.

“If you have to resort to offensive language to make your point, you’ve already lost the argument.”

Mr McKeown called for the flags’ removal and “stronger words calling this out rather than talking around it” .