Union Badge Is ‘Offensive’ Says the Met
Daily Express (London), July 29,2009
SCOTLAND Yard officers have been banned from wearing Union Flag badges in support of troops because they are deemed “offensive”.
Metropolitan Police chiefs ordered that the tiny emblems, which cost £1 with proceeds going to charity, must be removed after a complaint.
But 70 officers are continuing to wear them in defiance of the latest row over political correctness.
Peter Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, called the decision “shameful”.
The row started when 200 officers at Heathrow Airport were barred from wearing the badges, which raise funds for the British Legion and Help for Heroes.
A petition against the ban has been launched on the Downing Street website. Last night a Met spokesman said: “Only approved corporate badging may be used.”