Ryan Bridge, founder of the Raise the Colours movement, has denied any wrongdoing after being served with a Birmingham City Council injunction over flagging operations across the city. In a four-part Facebook livestream and later in conversation with BirminghamLive, Bridge said he is 'in the right and speaking up for ordinary Brummies' and claims he is the victim of a 'left-wing' conspiracy to silence him for exposing illegal immigration. He described the council's dossier of evidence and victim statements as '99 per cent lies' and said he intends to challenge the findings in court next week.
Injunction targets seven defendants
Bridge is one of seven named people listed as defendants in an injunction application brought by the council, which asks for flaggers to be barred from putting up flags on lampposts, street furniture and other council property without authorisation. He has appealed to his followers for legal assistance, financial support and to 'raise the flags' outside the hearing.
Bridge, now from Bromsgrove, believes the vast majority of Brummies back his flagging operation and that it is 'bringing joy', despite multiple allegations of harassment, intimidation and violence against members of the Raise the Colours movement he leads. He described himself as a 'father, son, brother, friend' who was determined to 'save our country, our history, our identity.'
Separate legal issues in Oxford and Brighton
Separately, Bridge confirmed on a webstream that he has been ordered to report to police in Oxford this weekend over allegations of harassment linked to flagging activities. Raise the Colours is the subject of a separate council injunction there. He is also facing a criminal charge of common assault relating to an incident in Brighton, which he denies, and has been questioned over a hit and run incident in Birmingham that occurred during a flagging operation.
The organisation Hope Not Hate has previously described Bridge as one of a group of 'playground bullies' plaguing communities. He rejects any wrongdoing.
Council evidence alleges confrontations and abuse
The injunction papers published by the council claim that flaggers have been involved in multiple confrontations while out flagging, which have been a drain on council and police resources and triggered fear and harm. Bridge is often among those who confront people who oppose the flags going up on lampposts or raise objections, engaging in abuse and close-up filming which he livestreams to followers, according to witness statements. The evidence bundle also refers to one incident which resulted in a resident suffering a broken leg as a result of a hit and run incident involving a cherrypicker. Police continue to investigate the circumstances.
In conversation with BirminghamLive, Bridge said he was served with the injunction papers earlier this week by the council and was 'in shock' and 'devastated'. He claimed the bundle of evidence, including witness statements from senior council officials, councillors, Birmingham Selly Oak MP Al Carns and police officers as well as ordinary residents, 'looks like the council have collaborated with the police...it represents another failure of the government and councils of our country.' He said it was unfair to have just hours to prepare defence documents when the council and police had taken months to pull together the injunction.
Bridge denies racism, criticises 'liberal middle class left'
Bridge also criticised the council for spending resources compiling evidence. "The majority of people here (in Birmingham) are pro flag and pro British, and you can see the love I get," he said. "It's that horrible 5 per cent, the liberal middle class left, who object and say not in my neighbourhood." He denied being a racist, claiming he was regularly tarnished with labels like Nazi and bigot 'for speaking out against illegal migration.' "It's not on," he said. "It's not true."
His anger at being labelled racist was evident on a livestream by Bridge early yesterday, when he filmed his reaction to being called a racist by a passing resident in Jewellery Quarter. The verbal onslaught unleashed by Bridge in response included homophobic slurs and personal comments. He has previously criticised people he encounters for being too quick to take offence over what he calls 'hurty words'.
Bridge calls for right-wing unity, claims silencing
Bridge later said the 'right wing' needed to come together to oppose the left in the UK. "We are the laughing stock of Europe and the world. We are getting more and more to be like a communist state....if you speak up or uncover the truth about the migrant situation...you are silenced." He also confirmed that the flagging operation had been designed to draw attention to the 'stop the boats' issue and claimed his activity filming migrants in dinghies in and around northern France last year had forced the Government to act. Bridge is banned from France and also confirmed he now regularly faces questions at border points when he ventures abroad.
The council documents, filed with the High Court and now released, describe court intervention as 'a last resort' but say the council has to act. Some 20,000 flags are now said to be flying across the city and nearby. The papers refer to video footage and images, some of it posted by the men named in the case on the Raise the Colours social media sites, to build its case that the flaggers have been responsible for abuse, threats and intimidation and their activity poses a public safety risk.
Council says flaggers' behaviour 'aggressive and intimidating'
The nub of the case is that flaggers have been "attaching flags to street furniture within Birmingham, including to lampposts, lighting columns, street signs, railings, bridges and barriers, without the consent, licence or permission of the council, or statutory authorisation" since August 2025. Waqar Ahmed, Director of Community Safety, Resilience and Cohesion at Birmingham City Council, says in his statement: "The defendants have not been conducting themselves peacefully. The tone of their behaviour has been aggressive, and they have been harassing and intimidating local communities and residents."
They have been doing so at all hours of day and night, 'unlawfully affixing flags...and causing disruption', his statement adds. They have also confronted residents who oppose them and those who take flags down, including council contractors, and 'engaged in tortious and criminal behaviour which is both anti social and dangerous...committing offences under Section 132 of the Highways Act 1980 and...acts of public nuisance.' The case will be heard in the civil courts in Birmingham next Tuesday, before a High Court judge.
