Well, maybe it's true - but one hell of a lot of those type of stories turn out to evaporate, when examined closely.

I remember there used to be regular stories in the tabloids about Harlow Council banning the Union Jack - and what it would be would be someone trying to stick a monster-sized flag so it flapped across the road and caused a traffic hazard, or something like that.

Meanwhile, every day of the year the council would have a Union Jack flying in the main square in the town centre, but that never got a mention in the stories.