A skull and crossbones flag flying over the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) building may be illegal.
The move by April's Fooler and communities secretary Eric Pickles was clearly an act of defiance, but may turn out to be a step more radical than he first thought.
According to the The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007, it is only the national flags, European Union flag, county flags and certain patron saints which can be flown about government buildings without consent. This applies to both local authorities and Whitehall departments.
The document, on the DCLG website, stated: ‘The European Union flag, the flag of the Commonwealth, the United Nations flag and English county and saints’ flags (where these are associated with a particular county) may be flown without express consent (Schedule 1, Class H).’
But, importantly, it is believed the department requires planning consent to fly alternate flags or advertisements.The pirate flag will only be flying legitimately if Mr Pickles has sought such consent.
Otherwise, it is claimed, Mr Pickles could be considered a genuine pirate.
