Clarity is needed from the NIO on whether flag will fly at new headquarters

The policy across Great Britain to fly the national flag from government buildings all year round should be extended to Northern Ireland.

After all, the Belfast Agreement was sold to us on the basis that our place in the United Kingdom was recognised and respected unless and until such times as the majority of people living here expressed an opinion to the contrary.

When the policy was introduced, the government said it would be “a proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us”. That being so, the flag should be flown in all parts of our nation, including Northern Ireland.

Yet the response of the NIO to press queries on the issue leaves open the possibility of the Union flag not flying from their new headquarters in Northern Ireland at all. Such a move is grossly insulting to the people of this part of the UK who are and remain British because that is the wish of the people of Northern Ireland.

The NIO need to come clean on this issue and state clearly that the Union flag will fly year round from its new HQ in Belfast. For too long the NIO has acted in an apologetic way when it comes to any display of Britishness rather than what it should be, a department of Her Majesty’s Government.

Norman Boyd, TUV, East Antrim

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