Gary Neville has revealed that he removed a union flag from one of his development sites in Manchester as it was being “used in a negative fashion”.
Neville released a video on Friday following an attack at a Manchester synagogue, outlining his thoughts on recent events and questioning the patriotism behind putting up union flags.
He explained how he feels the nation is “being turned on each other” by “angry, middle-aged white men who know what they’re doing”.
He described heading down Bury New Road and witnessing the Jewish community coming together in the aftermath of the attack and being “out in the streets defiant”.
Neville then compared it to a journey down Littleton Road in Salford, where he saw “probably 50-60” union jack flags, causing him to question why they are being put up in such numbers.
“Funnily enough on one of my development sites last week there was a union jack flag put up and I took it down instantly,” said the former footballer turned property developer.
“Some people might be watching this and thinking: ‘Gary you’re not really patriotic.’ I’ve played for my country 85 times, I love my country, I love Manchester and I love England.
“I’ve been building in this city for 15-20 years, and there’s no one put a union jack flag up in 15-20 years, so why do you need to put one up now?”
Neville has voiced his opinions on political and social issues before, including ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, the working conditions of NHS staff in the UK, and was a critic of Boris Johnson when he was prime minister.
“The union jack flag used in a negative fashion is not right and I’m a proud supporter of England, of Great Britain, of our country and will champion it anywhere in the world as one of the greatest places to live,” he added.
“But I think we need to check ourselves, check ourselves and start to think about bringing ourselves back to a neutral point because we’re being pulled right and left and we don’t need to be pulled right and left at all.”
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