Reform has been accused by a Tory Member of Parliament (MS) of trying to start a race row after a senior MP attacked Cardiff council for flying a Pakistan flag over Cardiff Castle. The local authority said it flew the flag for two days in August to mark Pakistan’s Independence Day. Social media accounts for Robert Jenrick, the party’s economic spokesman, described the act as an "attempt to dominate our culture." Natasha Asghar, a Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd, countered that such ceremonies were acts of "respect." Reform Wales later stated that no flag other than the Welsh dragon or the Union Flag should fly over historic landmarks.
Jenrick’s Facebook message followed right-wing comments on X, including Reform Wales’ Dan Thomas, about the same issue. Some posts referenced a 2024 BBC journalist’s image from Pakistan’s Independence Day. Jenrick reposted a video of Cardiff Castle hoisting the Pakistan flag, stating: "Why do we allow this attempt to dominate our culture?
We now see it everywhere. I am sick to death of foreign flags being hoisted above our historic buildings." Reform Wales had previously objected to the Ukraine flag flying outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, citing similar policy concerns. Natasha Asghar’s father, the late Mohammad Asghar, was born in pre-partition India and grew up in Pakistan.
She defended flag ceremonies, stating they were "not a takeover but a form of respect." Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts criticized Jenrick, calling his comments a "distraction" to avoid party chaos. Cardiff council’s Labour leader Chris Weaver clarified that the flag was flown to celebrate Pakistani communities’ contributions, alongside Wales’ and the UK’s flags. He dismissed the controversy as misinformation.
Thomas’s X post included a 2024 image, claiming Labour flew the Pakistan flag at Cardiff Castle, though no flag was visible on Monday. Former Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies questioned whether the council should fly the flag at all. Reform Wales did not address the use of an outdated image in its statement.
Source: BBC
