'Offensive' English flag banned

A company has banned its workers from flying England flags from their cars in case it offends ethnic minorities, it was revealed today.

Bosses at a motor auctioneers in Liverpool ordered employees to remove the St George flags, which they had displayed in advance of the Euro 2004 football tournament.

A spokesman for Liverpool Motor Auction Ltd said the ban had been imposed to maintain their “multi-national” corporate image.

He said: “A minority of employees who choose to park their vehicles on our main roadway entrance were asked to either remove the flags or park their vehicles elsewhere as the appearance of these vehicles was not in keeping with our professional and multi-cultural image.”

A spokesman for the Muslim community in Liverpool said: “This does not make any sense. This is the English national flag and people have a right to fly it.”