European flags appear across Shrewsbury as Article 50 set to be triggered
Anti-Brexit campaigners decorated Shrewsbury in dozens of European flags as Prime Minister Theresa May prepared to trigger Article 50 and take Britain out of the EU.
The flags appeared on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in a number of town centre locations including Frankwell footbridge, the Charles Darwin statue outside the town’s library and in flower displays in Castle Gates.
A steel statue of the town’s larger than life town crier Martin Wood was also decorated with the iconic blue flag adorned with 12 yellow stars.
It is thought the flags were planted as part of a social media campaign going by the name EU Flag Mafia which encourages Remain voters to plant their EU flags and post pictures on Twitter.
Adam Fejfer, 33, who lives in Shrewsbury, said he spotted several of the flags on Castle Gates. He said he thought Brexit was a bad move for Britain.
The Polish national said: “I had heard about EUflagmafia before but I had never seen it before.
“I am part of a group called EUinShropshire and we are trying to explain why the EU is not as bad as many people think.
“In my opinion Brexit will be bad for all of us. I'm a migrant from Poland but I decided to settle in UK.
“I believed it to be a better place to have kids and it is a country with better opportunities to develop my skills and ambition.
“I believe the UK is a great country but Brexit will divide the UK. Also, from a longer economic perspective, the UK won't be as good a place for investments.”
On Wednesday, a letter signed by Mrs May was handed to European Council president Donald Tusk, officially starting the process of Britain leaving the European Union.
Triggering Article 50 sets into motion a series of complex negotiations that are set to last for at least two years before Britain actually leaves the EU.
Mrs May said she would be aiming to deliver ‘a comprehensive free trade agreement’ enabling Britain to have as ‘frictionless’ trade relationship as possible with the EU member states.
The Government has set a target of March 2019 for the completion of Brexit negotiations, a deadline that Mrs May said is ‘very achievable’.
