Dawood Ashaari
Ryan Bridge, one of the founders of the ‘Raise the Colours’ flag movement in summer 2025, has been charged with common assault on a woman at a far-right ‘Stop the Boats’ protest in Brighton on June 13.
Bridge, 44, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, was charged by Sussex Police in relation to an altercation during the anti-immigration demonstration in June, where he was one of the main speakers.
The charge marks the latest legal development involving key figures behind the flag-raising movement, which has drawn sharp criticism from local authorities, community leaders, and anti-racism campaigners across Britain.
Raise the Colours gained widespread national attention by mobilising activists to hang thousands of Union Jack and St George’s Cross flags on public lampposts, council infrastructure, and residential streets across the UK. While organisers claimed the effort was a display of national pride, local councils and anti-hate organisations have repeatedly condemned the campaign as a cover for far-right intimidation aimed at minority communities and asylum seekers, and encouraging anti-immigrant vigilantism.
A report by the government-sponsored incident monitoring group British Muslim Trust (BMT) last October said that following increased attacks on mosques last summer involving use of the St George’s flag or Union Jack, the “timing and character of these attacks suggest a correlation with the emergence of high-visibility nationalist campaigns” like the ‘Raise the Colours’ groups.
Earlier this year, Bridge was arrested in Oxford in April on suspicion of religiously and racially aggravated harassment after residents reported feeling unsafe and intimidated by the unauthorised flag campaign. And in May 2026, Bridge was arrested on suspicion of wounding following a hit-and-run incident in Stirchley, Birmingham, in which a member of the public suffered a broken leg after Union flags were removed. In both cases, Bridge has denied wrongdoing.
Other members linked to the network have faced separate serious investigations or criminal charges, prompting former supporters to distance themselves as the group shifted increasingly toward anti-migrant confrontations.
Bridge is scheduled to appear in court in August in connection with the Brighton assault charge.
On the day of a High Court hearing brought by Oxfordshire County Council against the ‘Raise the Colours’ group, members of the group appeared to film themselves speaking to camera inside the High Court – which could amount to contempt of court – and post the footage on social media.
Another prominent member of ‘Raise the Colours’, Ben Cullen, 45, from Wallingford, was charged last month with three counts relating to making or downloading indecent images of children. Cullen denies any wrongdoing.
In a statement on social media, the ‘Raise the Colours’ group said, “‘Raise the Colours’ wishes to make clear that we were not aware, and have never previously been aware, of the allegations reported concerning Ben Cullen (Raise the Colours Oxfordshire).”
The post claimed that Cullen “was not affiliated with” ‘Raise the Colours’ and that sometimes members of the movement may have put flags alongside him “but this does not mean he represented, was part of, or was affiliated” with the movement. It continued: “We take allegations of this nature extremely seriously. As this is now a matter before the courts, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further on the specifics of the case.”
In 2019, following an altercation in a pub garden, Cullen pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon and administering a noxious substance with intent. He also had previous convictions for weapons and violent offences, including possession of a firearm.
