GARY Neville is reportedly facing fury from his own builders after ordering workers to tear down a Union Jack.
Neville, 50, accused “angry, middle-aged white men” of dividing the country by “using the Union Flag in a negative fashion” on Friday.
But workers at one of his sites have reportedly hit back at the pundit[/caption]
The ex-Prem star said he “instantly” took down a flag a contractor had erected at one of his sites in Manchester.
“I just kept thinking as I was driving home last night that we’re all being turned on each other and the division that’s being created is absolutely disgusting,” the Sky Sports pundit said in the clip posted to his LinkedIn account.
“Mainly created by angry middle-aged white men who know exactly what they’re doing.
“Funnily enough on one of my development sites last week there was a Union Jack flag put up and I took it down instantly.”
However, construction workers who had been flying the flag at his St Michael’s office redevelopment site in Bootle Street, Manchester, were outraged by his intervention, reports the Mail.
The employee told the outlet: “He was walking past when he saw the flag flying on the fifth floor along with a Moldovan flag and another one.
“He got on the radio to one of the workers and started asking why the Union Flag was up there. He only mentioned the Union Flag, not the other two – and said it had to come down.
“Obviously he is the boss, and we are not going to argue with him. But Union Flags are normally put on building sites. It happens all over the country.
“Gary Neville played for England, but he won’t let us put a flag up to celebrate the country where we live. It’s caused a lot of anger. This wasn’t discussed, we were just told.”
Former Manchester United captain Neville’s video, from Friday, puts him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer, who he joined for a Labour Party political broadcast prior to the general election last year.
The PM said Labour will “never surrender” the country’s flag.
It comes as members of the public have been putting up the St George’s Cross and the Union Flag in recent weeks.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said last month England flags can be “put up anywhere” after two councils tore them down.
Both Tower Hamlets and Birmingham local authorities in August sparked outrage for removing national flags from public places.
Ex-England defender Neville added: “I was driving to Salford City, going down Littleton Road seeing probably 50 to 60 Union Jack flags.
“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, but I’ve been building in this city for 15 to 20 years and there’s no one put a Union Jack flag up in the last 15 to 20 years so why do you need to put one up now?
“Because quite clearly it’s sending a message to everybody that there is something you don’t like.
“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.
“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.”
