A Good Morning Britain guest has sparked fury by claiming the St George’s flag is ‘racist’ and should be changed.

Controversial black studies professor Kehinde Andrews, who has previously attacked Britain and the Royal Family, claimed England’s national flag was deep-rooted in racism amid a row over a ‘patriotic outpouring’ around the country.

An online movement called ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ has led to communities across the country hanging up Union Jack and St George’s flags, including in Birmingham, London, Bradford, Newcastle and Norwich.

But a row broke out when Birmingham City Council announced it would begin removing British flags from the city’s streets for ‘safety reasons’ – despite allowing Palestine flags to fly high for several months.

Council workers in Tower Hamlets, east London, were also met with abuse as they began to tear down flags hung by patriotic campaigners who insist they are not ‘racist’ but simply ‘proud English men’.

It comes at a time when St George’s flags have frequently been displayed by protesters outside migrant hotels – including The Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex and the Britannia International in Canary Wharf, where several demonstrations have been held.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, Prof Andrews weighed into the nationwide debate, telling hosts Adil Ray and Kate Garraway that the history of the flag has always been problematic and ‘represents racism’.

Prof Andrews, professor of black studies at Birmingham City University, said: ‘It’s not that the far-Right has co-opted the flag. It’s that we don’t understand what this country is and the history of both of these symbols.

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Kehinde Andrews, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University, told Good Morning Britain hosts Adil Ray and Kate Garraway that the history of the flag has always been problematic in the segment that aired on Tuesday

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England flags flying on lampposts along Bartley Reservoir, in Bartley Green, Birmingham, yesterday

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Earlier this week, council workers were seen using extendable shears to remove St George’s Cross flags from lampposts in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets

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It comes after an increased number of people have used the St George’s flag and the Union Jack to oppose immigration into the UK in recent weeks

Kehinde Andrews’s previous incendiary remarks about royals, Britain and racism

‘The Royal Family is racist’

In 2022, Prof Andrews accused the Royal Family of being ‘deeply embedded in institutional racism’ after the late Queen’s chief lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, resigned amid a race row.

‘The Queen is the number one symbol of white supremacy in the world’

In June 2021, Prof Andrews labelled the late Queen ‘the number one symbol of white supremacy in the world’.

He said  he did not know ‘why it’s such a big deal’ Oxford University students voted to take down a picture of the Queen from their common room.

During a debate into whether the Queen had been cancelled, Prof Andrews told Good Morning Britain: ‘If we’re honest the Queen doesn’t just represent modern colonialism, the Queen is probably the number one symbol of white supremacy in the entire world.

‘A born to rule elite of this really white family. The head of the commonwealth which is actually the empire.’

‘The British Empire was far worse than the Nazis’ 

In February 2021, Prof Andrews branded the British Empire ‘far worse than the Nazis’ during a controversial debate about Sir Winston Churchill’s legacy.

He said: ‘The British Empire was far worse than the Nazis. They lasted longer and killed many more people.’

On Churchill, he added: ‘There is no debate. His white supremacy is pretty much on record and the question here is why does Churchill still hold the level of popularity that he does? It’s almost like he’s been beatified – a saintly figure beyond reproach.’

‘Churchill was a clear racist’

The academic made headlines in 2018 when he claimed on Good Morning Britain that Churchill was a ‘clear racist’ in a heated debate in which Piers Morgan asked him: ‘Why do you live in a country that you loathe?’

He also compared the UK’s war-time Prime Minister to Nazi leader Hitler for his treatment of Indians when the country endured a famine in 1943.

‘Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory are racist songs’

In 2020, Prof Andrews criticised the singing of Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory at the Last Night of the Proms.

He said: ‘Some of those songs, particularly those two, are racist propaganda. They celebrate the British Empire which killed tens of millions of people.’

‘Both of these flags are the flags that were flown on ships that enslaved my ancestors; those are the flags that the British Army marched into places like Pakistan, India, Bengal, Africa, and colonised 25 percent of the world.

‘The reason the far-Right picks up these flags and has consistently since the 60s, 70s, since my parents’ generation have been in the country is because these flags represent the racism that they are putting out into the world.

‘This campaign of putting these flags up, this is not some benign “let’s just be patriotic”… go and search “Operation Raise the Colours” and you will find the same far-right, Little England, this nonsense-spewing about migrant hotels… this is what it’s about.’

He added: ‘People aren’t putting up these flags to celebrate Britain, they’re putting up this flag to remind us that Britain is white and we shouldn’t be here.’

Prof Andrews has previously come under fire for incendiary remarks about royals, Britain and racism.

He once declared that the late Queen Elizabeth II was ‘the number one symbol of white supremacy in the world’ and claimed the British Empire was ‘far worse than the Nazis’.

Prof Andrews has also accused former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill of being a ‘clear racist’ and said ‘Rule, Britannia!’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ were racist songs.

Defending the St George’s and Union Jack on GMB, fellow guest Dr Rakib Ehsan took the opposing view and argued that there is absolutely nothing wrong with people displaying the national flags.

Dr Ehsan said: ‘In my view, there are many reasons why we should be proud of British identity. We should celebrate expressions of English pride.

‘If I just speak from a personal perspective, I think that Britain has a rich tradition of religious freedom.

‘I also think that, compared to other European countries, it fares much better in terms of anti-discrimination laws against its minorities.’

While Ehsan acknowledged why some people are now viewing the flags differently, he believes that they can be a symbol of unity.

He went on: ‘But I actually think when I see ethnic minority people expressing pride in their Britishness, celebrating their sense of belonging in England, I think that’s the perfect antidote, a great counter-challenge to far-Right activity and those groups that ultimately want to take ownership of those flags.’

However, Andrews insisted that the flag simply cannot be used in this way.

Andrews later added: ‘These flags, these symbols, they represent white supremacy.

‘You’re never going to get a large majority who will never look at that flag and never see anything but intimidation.’

Reactions to the segment online were mixed, with many arguing that there is nothing ‘hateful’ about the flags, fuming: ‘This is England, the English will fly their flag as and when they want to, WHEREVER they want to.’

Others agreed: ‘Why are we arguing about the British flag?! We are in Britain! In Greece they have their flag everywhere so do Italy, Spain, all over Europe.’

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Tensions bubbled over in Tower Hamlets this week when, around midday at Marsh Wall on the Isle of Dogs, a two-man team from the council spent several hours cutting down Union and St George flags

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One of the employees, who gave his name only as Tyrone, told the Daily Mail: ‘I was sent here by my managers to take these flags down. I don’t know the significance of these flags but I’ve been taking them down and getting abuse by people who are telling me to “leave it!”‘

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Pictured: Palestinian flags seen in Tower Hamlets in 2024

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For weeks St George’s flags have been flown in areas including Weoley Castle (pictured), Northfield and Selly Oak, erected by groups of patriotic locals

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The black, white, green and red of Palestine is a familiar sight in Sparkhill (pictured), an inner-city suburb with a Muslim population of 79 per cent

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The support for flag-flying is understandable in areas in which the Palestinian flag has flown for several months

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However, Dr Rakib Ehsan (R) took the opposing view and argued that there is absolutely nothing wrong with people displaying the St George’s Flag and the Union Jack

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Reactions to the segment online were mixed, with many arguing that there is nothing ‘hateful’ about the flags, fuming: ‘This is England, the English will fly their flag as and when they want to, WHEREVER they want to’

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While Ehsan acknowledged why some people are now viewing the flags differently, he believes that they can be a symbol of unity

‘This is the exact reason the country is on its a**e. Idiots like this saying a country’s flag is a symbol of hate when actually it’s the wokeness of the country which has made it that way, and the way authorities force things down your throat.’

But there were viewers who agreed that the flag has been latched onto by the far-Right, making its usage now problematic.

They wrote: ‘It’s not being patriotic though is it? We all know why it’s happening.’

‘Interesting debate. Unfortunately though there is no doubt that the St George’s flag especially has been latched onto by far right fake patriot groups and used as their banner to spread hate.

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With homegrown anti-British sentiment on the rise, the Birmingham City Council announcement was delivered at a particularly sensitive juncture. It also came against growing cultural tensions over mass migration

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Local mothers led protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex (pictured), which was housing an Ethiopian asylum seeker charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl

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Back in Birmingham, the flags started springing up last month in Weoley Castle – in the south-west of the city – before spreading to Northfield, Selly Oak, Bartley Green and other districts. It is estimated that around 1,500 have been put up so far

‘I’d love the country to reclaim its flag from those people.’

Another wrote: ‘In this instance they’re being flown as a deliberately act of racist provocation by the far right, who sadly have claimed the flag as theirs.

‘Why is a national flag required at a protest about migrant hotels? Doesn’t mean though flags are inherently racist & cant ever be flown [sic].’