‘Happy Brexit Day’ poster telling people to speak English reported to police
Written by News on 03/02/2020
A “Happy Brexit Day” poster telling residents of a block of flats “we do not tolerate” people speaking other languages has been reported to the police.
Copies of the sign were reportedly found stuck to fire doors on all 15 floors of Winchester Tower in Norwich on Friday morning.
The discovery came hours before the UK officially left the European Union at 11pm on Friday.
A photo of the poster, which was shared on social media, shows that it reads: “As we finally have our great country back we feel there is one that needs to be made clear to Winchester Tower residents.
“We do not tolerate people speaking other languages than English in the flats.
“We are now our own country again and the Queens (sic) English is the spoken tongue here.”
The sign continues: “If you want to speak whatever is the mother tongue of the country you came from then we suggest you return to that place and return your flat to the council.”
Norwich City Council posted on Twitter on Saturday: “You may have seen a photo of a poster that has appeared in one of our properties.
“Norwich has a proud history of being a welcoming city, and we will not tolerate this behaviour.
“As soon as we became aware of this incident, we reported it to @NorfolkPolice and they are investigating.
“We take this very seriously and encourage residents to contact us or the police if they have any concerns.”
A resident, who spoke to the BBC, said the signs were left on fire doors across all 15 floors of the block of flats before being removed by a caretaker.
Mike Stonard, a cabinet member on Norwich City Council, told the Eastern Daily Press: “I absolutely condemn this abhorrent poster. Whoever put it there has committed a hate crime, it is as simple as that.
“Many people voted for Brexit for a range of different reasons, however I am sure not many of them will condone this kind of thing.”
Norfolk Police have been contacted for comment.
(c) Sky News 2020: ‘Happy Brexit Day’ poster telling people to speak English reported to police
