Ards and North Down Council admits defeat to Jamie Bryson in Union Flag legal case

Earlier this year, the Alliance and SDLP had used a ‘call in’ motion to overturn a decision by a majority of councillors to fly the flag 365 days a year at war memorials in the borough. However, following a legal challenge by Mr Bryson, officials have now accepted that his argument that the move was out of time and therefore not legal.

The original policy will now be restored – and the flag will fly from war memorials across Ards and North Down as soon as the final court decision is made.

Mr Bryson said: “I am obviously delighted to have won this case, with the effect being the Alliance and SDLP efforts to block the Union flag are defeated. This is a huge win for Unionism; this legal action has secured that the Union flag will fly 365 days a year from War Memorials in Ards and North Down. I am very proud to have achieved this for unionism, but more importantly for all those who fought and died to defend that flag.

“The Alliance tore the Union flag from City Hall in 2013, and they have tried to block the Union flag from War Memorials in the Borough. This time they have lost. This is a moment of shared unionist celebration, but in time, there will surely be questions as to what on earth unionist councillors were doing and why it took me, acting alone, to bring High Court proceedings to quash the decision.

“In any event, on the eve of Remembrance weekend, the Union flag will be going up. That’s the best tribute to those who went before and gave their lives”.

Council officials told elected representatives that Mr Bryson “is correct that the requisition was out of time when received and should have been declared inadmissible. The effect will be that the original decision of the Council dated 20 December 2023, whereby it approved a motion to fly the Union flag 365 days per year from war memorials in the borough will be restored, and steps will be taken to implement that decision as soon as is reasonably practicable, once the final order is made”.