Council scraps £9,000 contract with tree surgeon after he raised hundreds of patriotic flags around hometown

Mr Crotty, who had hung around 300 flags along the A1198, said the flags were in part a protest against illegal immigration but stressed he did not want to "intimidate anyone".

Now, he has told GB News he had a £9,000 job cancelled with Steeple Morden Parish Council after making headlines with his stunt.

An email sent to Mr Crotty by Steeple Morden Parish Council, seen by GB News, dated September 21, said an order had been made for the removal of leylandii trees.

The email read: "The Council has recently reviewed its position and, in light of recent public events in which your organisation has been prominently involved, it has concluded that proceeding with this order at the present time could create perceptions of alignment or endorsement that the Council, as a public body, must avoid.

"The Council does not wish to take or appear to take a position on these matters and must therefore withdraw the order.

"We stress that this decision is based solely on the Council’s responsibility to maintain neutrality and should not be seen as a reflection on the quality of your services or the merits of the issues involved."

"It just seems to me like a bit of virtue signal really", Mr Crotty told GB News, adding: "It's obviously cost my family because it's food off our table really.

"I'm quite a busy man and I've thought about taking legal action, which I haven't done yet. The job has come and gone now, I believe someone else has done it.

"I tried to reason with them but they just weren't having any of it...They told me it was nothing to do with my work and they were happy with it, it was just to do with the flags.

"I did say there was nothing illegal about what I had done but they didn't listen."

He continued: "I did point out to them that my company and my personal views were not really here nor there.

"They could have just run with the job and no one would have known."

Chairman of Steeple Morden Parish Council Nick Badger told GB News: "At the time, there was intense press interest in Billy Crotty and his flag raising.

"As a Parish Council, we are a non-political organisation and as such we remain neutral on the matter, and therefore felt it necessary to withdraw the contract."

Mr Crotty previously said the reaction had been "99 per cent positive" after placing the flags on the A1198 as well as nearby on the A10 and A505 on roads managed by Hertfordshire County Council.

He said: "We're constantly being beeped and cheered. A lot of people think it's a nice feature for the area."

Sir Keir Starmer previously said the flag represented "our diverse country", adding he would not allow people to feel "intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin".

The Prime Minister said: "Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division."

It comes after a Reform council leader said Warwickshire "will not go woke" after his local authority announced it will replace flags with Christmas lights.

Warwickshire County Council is set to remove Union Jacks and St George's crosses which have graced streets since July as part of the "Operation Raise the Colours" movement.

Flags started to be hoisted back in the summer with Britons brandishing flags on lampposts and buildings, as well as painting St George's crosses on mini-roundabouts and pedestrian crossings.

George Finch said: "Let's be completely frank. This is a pragmatic way forward. And looking at some of the flags now, they are deteriorating on these flag posts. So we want to bring them down, which is fine, clean them, refresh them, and the people can put them back up in January in the new year.

"It's a complete, pragmatic, common sense way forward. And I think Reform would like to see our flags put up lovely and clean."