Jeremy Vine viewers have flooded social media with complaints following a debate on Monday's show about the installation of England flags on public fixtures up and down the country.
The flags have been erected as part of "Operation Raise the Colours", a patriotism campaign that has gained traction on social media and spread to numerous English towns and cities.
As a result, two local authorities have announced they will take down British and English flags that residents attach to street lighting across their areas.
Tower Hamlets in east London confirmed it would remove St George's flags "as soon as possible", whilst Birmingham City Council has already begun taking down hundreds of Union Jack and St George's Cross flags from lampposts.
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Jeremy Vine: Andrea Jenkyns locked horns with Kevin Maguire
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The group describes itself as "a group of proud Englishmen with a common goal to show Birmingham and the rest of the country how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements".
British and English flags have also appeared on lampposts in Swindon, Bradford, Newcastle, and Norwich as the campaign has expanded nationwide.
Following the decision by the aforementioned councils, Jenkins and Maguire joined Jeremy Vine's stand-in host, Alexis Conran, to discuss.
"This is ridiculous... I'm English, I'm proud to be English," Jenkins said of the decision as she kicked off the discussion, only promptly to be cut off by Maguire.
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Jeremy Vine: Alexis Conran oversaw the discussion
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"Hang on, hang on," Maguire interjected. "These are flags put on lampposts. You know that during an election campaign, you've got to take it down after a certain time.
"I live in Tower Hamlets, and a lot of Palestinian flags went up, and the council had them taken down."
Jenkins then weighed in: "But if you look at the wider reason as to why people are doing that, I think people want to have a voice and that they feel sick of being back of the queue."
A disagreeing Maguire interjected once more. "If you've got something called 'Operation Raise The Colours', that sounds very military, it sounds very aggressive. Why are they doing it? If you want flags on your town halls, you make your choices.
Jeremy Vine: Andrea Jenkyns clashed with Kevin Maguire
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"I'll probably make different choices than you on the flags, but you can't go around just sticking what you like on a lamppost.
"And if you're going around sticking up the flag of St George, why are you doing it? I bet you there's an aggression in this campaign which I think we should be wary of."
"Well, look at the aggression of the pro-Palestinian lobby," Jenkins argued, prompting Maguire to hit back: "That's why they were taken down!"
The Reform UK MP continued: "When I was the MP for Morley, they had one of the largest St George's celebrations in the country, even the BBC said, 'Is it the most patriotic town?' And it was actually amazing that celebration, bringing everyone together and being proud to be English.
Jeremy Vine: Kevin Maguire claimed groups putting up the flags were 'aggressive'
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"I think this is an underlying protest movement because they feel they're being left out."
Dissatisfied with Jenkins' suggestion, Maguire argued: "Migrants in Britain are among the most patriotic people in Britain.
"I saw that with the Coronation. I'm a Republican; it wasn't for me, I didn't take part, but I saw Bengalis and others taking part in that.
"Somebody's going around putting up these flags in this way, these crosses of St George, you know it's aggressive, it's meant to be evocative."
St George's flags have sprung up on lampposts in Birmingham | GETTYMaguire's stance, in particular, sparked quite the reaction among Channel 5 viewers watching at home, with several taking to social media to voice their opinions on the debate.
"Literally everything this man said is complete nonsense. Why give him airtime?" one person queried on Instagram, before a second added: "Maguire is blind to what's getting everyone angry."
"It’s hardly aggressive," a third argued. "What a stupid point thing to try and twist into something that it isn’t! Did people get hurt. Was it done at gunpoint? Were cars set on fire? No!"
The complaints continued over on X, with a fourth viewer hitting out: "How is @Kevin_Maguire paid to talk such b*****ks!"
"People are doing it because they feel they want a voice, they're sick of being back of the queue..."@andreajenkyns and @Kevin_Maguire discuss Operation Raise the Colours and why councils are removing English flags from lampposts.
— Jeremy, Storm & Vanessa On 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) August 18, 2025
Alexis Conran | #JeremyVine pic.twitter.com/4MyHItYVjr
And another X user fumed: "Typical Kevin, any reason he can think of to deny being English. Every other country in the world is proud of who they are, and Kevin just shows his anti-English character every time."
However, there were some who agreed that there were legal and practical reasons for the removal of the flags.
On Instagram, one user argued: "When you attach flags of any kind, you need permission, especially when they are next to roads. If that flag is not attached correctly or creates a blind spot, it can result in an accident."
And a second sided with Maguire: "If people want to put flags up, then put them on their houses, their cars, their clothes, and anything else that belongs to them. Personally, I think putting them on lampposts etc is being purposefully antagonistic."
Meanwhile, others urged Channel 5 bosses to stop discussing the divisive topic. "Stop with the culture wars, it's boring and divisive," they said on Instagram. (sic)