COUNCILLORS RAISE FLAG (& HACKLES) AFTER HONOURING LEE RIGBY

ABOVE: Seaman John Henderson lowered the Union flag in his local park in Amble (North News)

I was outraged when it was moved back to full mast.

Seaman John Henderson

2nd June 2013

By David Paul

A TOWN has turned on its ­councillors after they stopped a Royal Navy sailor honouring the memory of Lee Rigby.

Seaman John Henderson lowered the Union flag in his local park in Amble, Northumberland, on the stroke of midnight on the day drummer Rigby was killed, planning to leave it at half-mast for 24 hours.

But by the following afternoon, town hall twits in the small fishing port of Amble had found out and sent workmen to put the flag back up, claiming it was “a breach of protocol”.

John, 26, was alerted and returned to the park to lower the flag a second time – where it stayed until midnight when he raised it again.

John said: “I was outraged when it was moved back to full mast.”

Amble residents like Linda Addison were angry with the council. She said: “Disgraceful doesn’t come close.”

In a climbdown, the council has now decided the Union flag will be lowered to half-mast once again – on the day of Lee’s funeral.