Man sentenced for hanging flag with message for MP

A man who hung a flag from York's medieval walls which displayed an abusive message towards Labour MP Rachael Maskell has received a suspended sentence.

Lee Moran, 55, of York, put up a St George's Cross near Walmgate Bar with the writing: "This one's for you, Maskill" [sic] on 16 September last year.

Moran was sentenced at York Magistrates Court for one offence under the Communications Act and two public order offences after being convicted of all three following a trial.

Maskell, who had previously called for other St George's Cross flags to be removed from lampposts around the city, said the incident caused her to feel "distressed with the threat of being a target in political violence".

During the hearing, the court heard "Maskill" was a deliberate misspelling of the MP's name, and Moran claimed he was suggesting the MP was a "kill joy" or a "buzzkill".

Prosecutor Verity Barnes told the court he had put up the flag during Operation Raise the Colours, which had spread across towns and cities in England over the course of summer 2025.

York Central MP Maskell was vocal about calling for flags to be removed from lampposts in the city, saying in a statement read out at Moran's trial that they had caused division in communities.

Maskell, who at the time had had the Labour whip removed for her part in a Parliamentary rebellion against planned welfare cuts, also said that she feared the flag would "incite a larger group of people".

In a post on social media responding to this, Moran, of Brunswick Street in York, had called the MP a "traitor to the English people" for suggesting the flags should be removed.

Moran said he had deliberately misspelt Maskell's surname as "Maskill" on the flag but denied he did so in a threatening way.

He said it was "over the top" for the message to be interpreted as a threat and that "only cynical people" would interpret it as a death threat.

The Communications Act offence which Moran was found guilty of related to a heated discussion he had with a Facebook user after a photo of the flag was uploaded onto the social media site, the court was told.

The second public order offence related to Moran "hurling abuse" at a woman who accidentally knocked one of the flag poles the defendant had used, when she found it blocking her path.

Deputy district judge Tanik Ram said: "Politicians have to feel safe in being able to express a political view and I say that of all political persuasions. I'm not singling out any political view."

Moran, who the court heard had 45 previous offences on his record, was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison, suspended for a year.

He was also ordered to pay £70 in compensation to the woman he had abused.

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