Gary Neville’s builder backlash: ‘Angry’ workers who he ordered to remove Union Jack hit back and accuse him of suppressing free speech

Gary Neville is facing a furious backlash from builders at his £400million construction site after he ordered them to take down a Union flag.

Neville, 50, who is known for his Left-wing views, revealed in a video message posted on the LinkedIn website that he had the flag removed ‘instantly’ as soon as he saw it.

The ex-Manchester United defender and Captain spoke out in his video about ‘angry, middle-aged white men’ dividing the country by ‘using the Union Jack in a negative fashion’.

But 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.

One worker accused Neville, who has become a property developer since he stopped playing football, of being unpatriotic and suppressing free speech.

He said that the former England footballer saw the Union Flag as he walked past, and immediately went to the gate and asked to speak to the construction site manager over the radio system, so he could demand it was taken down.

The employee exclusively told the Daily Mail: ‘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.

‘He didn’t mention the Moldovan flag or the other. He only had a problem with the Union Flag.

‘Afterwards we had to do “toolbox chats” for everyone about political messages on the building site. Basically we had to explain why we can’t have flags, and we can’t express our political views because Gary Neville says we can’t.’

The three flags on the site are said to have been hung up by joiners working for the main constructor Domis Construction.

The worker, who was speaking anonymously and defying an order not to speak of the incident, said the Union Flag was clearly visible from the street while the two others were more hidden inside of the site.

They added: ‘Some of us disagreed, but we had to take them down. Some are questioning who Gary Neville thinks he is to tell them what flags they can put up in their place of work. Flags are being put up all over the country.

‘They weren’t happy that they had to take them down, but they have to do what they are told – they don’t want to lose their jobs.

‘People who work on construction sites are from all over the place, all different countries and we all get on really well. So there was no ill meaning behind it. The lads were just putting flags up from where they are from.

‘Everyone else can put their flags up so why can’t we? They do when they’re playing for England, shall we say, and I am not a footballer.

‘Obviously it is bad times in this country at the moment, and this is the way people are trying to unite together. But in speaking out about it, Neville’s opened a can of worms.’

Neville spoke about the so-called Operation Raise the Colours campaign to publicly fly England and Union Flags from lamp posts as he spoke of his sadness about the Yom Kipper attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Greater Manchester.

The deadly knife and car rampage by Islamic terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie left two worshippers dead and three others seriously injured on Friday. One of the dead was shot dead when a police bullet passed through a door which he was holding from the inside

Neville said: ‘The division that is being created is absolutely disgusting, mainly created by angry middle-aged white men who know exactly what they are doing.’

The pundit added in his video, which he posted last Friday: ‘Funnily enough, on one of my development sites last week, there was a Union Jack flag put up, and I took it down instantly.

‘Some people might be watching this and thinking, “Gary you are not very patriotic”. I played for my country 85 times and love my country. I love Manchester and I love England.

‘But I have been building in this city for 15 or 20 years, and there has been no one put a Union Jack flag up in the last 15 or 20 years, so why do you need to put one up now?

‘It is quite clearly sending a message to everybody that there is something you don’t like. The Union Jack flag being used in a negative fashion is not right.

‘I am a proud supporter of England, and Great Britain, and our country and would champion it anywhere in the world as being one of the greatest places to live.

‘But I think we need to check ourselves… and start to think ourselves back to a neutral point because we are being pulled right and left.’

Neville’s comments about the flag-raising campaign which has been linked to protests outside asylum hotels have been widely criticised on social media.

Some people called for him to be sacked as a pundit by Sky Sports while others accused him of being as a ‘champagne socialist’.

Neville, who has long been dubbed ‘Red Nev’ due to his Left-wing views and support of trade unionists, is said to have built a business empire worth an estimated £100million, largely through a lucrative series of property investments.

Building work on his latest St Michael’s project being run by his development company Relentless began in 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2027. It is to create new offices, apartments, a hotel as well as bars, restaurants and cafes.

The Daily Mail has contacted Mr Neville, Relentless and Domis Construction for comment.