Brexit supporters take Union flags to Westminster at 6am

Remain campaigners arrived around 90 minutes later, and began placing their EU flags around the Union flags.

Published Mar 28, 2019

Last updated Mar 28, 2019

Brexit supporters descended on Parliament Square early on Thursday to place 34 Union flags in a spot usually occupied by EU flags before Remain voters arrived.

David Ireland, 41, and three others arrived at around 6am armed with the custom-made flags to find no EU ones there.

A row of Union flags in a spot usually occupied by EU flags opposite the Houses of Parliament (Ted Hennessey/PA)

They swiftly moved to set up all 34 around the television cameras outside the Houses of Parliament.

The Remain campaigners arrived at 7.30am, and began placing their EU flags around the Union flags.

Mr Ireland said: “People turn on the TV and see this entire wall covered in EU flags; some people want to be in the EU but there’s also some people who don’t want to be in the EU, so we’ve come along and done our flags.

“What the Remain voters do is shun all the Leave campaigners into the irrelevant middle ground and dominate the TV space.

Photo taken in January of anti-Brexit and Pro-Brexit protesters flying flags outside the Houses of Parliament (Yui Mok/PA) — Anti-Brexit and Pro-Brexit protesters flying flags outside the Houses of Parliament in January (Yui Mok/PA)

“The narrative was this is the EU zone, we own this, but it seemed a little bit one-sided.”

Asked if he would do the same on Friday, he said: “I’ve got a job, I can’t do this all the time like they do.”