The BBC is (at least according to The Telegraph) under fire after broadcasting the plethora of EU flags on display during the Last Night of the Proms.
The coverage by the national broadcaster has been described as “disgraceful” after clips of hundreds of EU flags were shown during Rule, Britannia!, the song synonymous with the end-of-season concert.
Harvey Proctor, a former Conservative MP, called for an immediate investigation into how so many EU flags could be on display at the event in the Royal Albert Hall.
He wrote: “[The] Disgraceful & misguided BBC messing up a British tradition; a political gesture which would make Sir Henry Wood turn in his grave. Utterly vulgar & wrong. Rule Britannia, not Rule EU!”
Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher, wrote: “Ironic to see some of the audience at The Last Night of the Proms waving EU flags while singing Rule Britannia. Rule Britannia represents freedom, sovereignty and self-determination, all absent in the EU. Thank God.”
But not everyone felt like the Beeb should bear the brunt of the criticism for the display.
Edwin Hayward compared the criticism to Flat Earthers complaining about the broadcasting of a round planet, while James Felton noted that the alternative would have been to just focus on the ceiling for two hours!