John Cleese has issued a furious response after a leaked Government strategy document branded the flying of English, Scottish and Union flags as potential “tools of hate” deployed to intimidate communities.
The 47-page draft, titled “Protecting What Matters,” is expected to be unveiled by ministers in a cross-departmental initiative next week.
According to the document, which was obtained by the Spectator magazine, national symbols were at times used last summer to “exclude or intimidate.”
The strategy warns that the “extreme right has tried to turn symbols of pride into tools of hate.”
Government sources have indicated the leaked version, also seen by think tank Policy Exchange, represents an early draft of the proposals.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government declined to comment on the leak.
After learning of the remarks in the documents, Mr Cleese took to X to share his thoughts on the issue.
“The Labour Government is now the worst ever to run this country,” he brutally surmised. “Worse than Johnson, worse than Truss, worse than Ethelred the Completely Hopeless. Good bye!”
The comments in the plans reference campaigns throughout Britain last year that encouraged displaying national flags on streets and lampposts, with an online movement called Operation Raise the Colours coordinating efforts to cover towns and cities in patriotic symbols.
Supporters of the initiative defended it as an expression of national pride, while critics claimed the displays were connected to immigration-related tensions and protests linked to far-right figures.
At the time, the Prime Minister supported the public’s right to fly St George’s flags, though the leaked documents appear to associate such displays with rising community tensions.
The strategy proposes allocating approximately £800 million over a decade to support 40 areas identified as experiencing particular strain on social cohesion.
The document also reportedly warns that antisemitism has become “normalised in many corners of society,” including schools, universities, workplaces and the NHS.
Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice, much like Mr Cleese, responded furiously to the proposals, dismissing the entire document as worthless.
“Absurdly, this says our national flag is a tool of hate used to intimidate,” he told the Sun.
“The whole paper is a divisive nonsense that should be consigned to the bin,” the party’s Business, Trade and Energy spokesman added.
The draft strategy also outlines strengthened counter-extremism measures, identifying Islamism as Britain’s most significant extremist threat.
New powers would enable authorities to close extremist charities and remove trustees connected to promoting hatred.
Additionally, the proposals include establishing a “special representative on anti-Muslim hostility” to coordinate government efforts against hatred directed at Muslim communities, alongside a new definition of Islamophobia as part of guidance on anti-Muslim hatred.
Shadow Communities Secretary Sir James Cleverly cautioned that creating an anti-Muslim hostility “tsar” risked producing a “chilling effect” on public discourse.
The Conservative frontbencher accused Labour of “pandering to sectarianism” following the party’s loss of the previously safe Gorton and Denton seat in Greater Manchester to the Greens at last month’s by-election.
“Anti-Muslim hatred is real, but we should tackle it with the existing laws we have for that exact purpose, without undermining free expression,” Sir James stated.
He characterised the approach as “divisive tactics,” echoing party leader Kemi Badenoch’s recent warning that identity politics represents a “dead end.”
Critics have argued the proposals could function as a backdoor “blasphemy law” restricting free speech, though the Government maintains its focus is on protecting people from unacceptable treatment.
The draft affirms Britain does not recognise blasphemy laws and will resist attempts to intimidate individuals over alleged blasphemy.
