A local council has stopped a woman from laying a wreath of white poppies at a Remembrance Day service, insisting only red poppies will be allowed.
Lyn Pardo, a local historian from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said she had laid a wreath of white poppies at the service previously, but has been stopped from doing so this year by Chesterfield Borough Council.
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) and similar groups, who promote and sell the white poppy, claim to be “pacifists” who want to remember all victims of war.
Critics, however, told Breitbart London that they are associated with “anti-nationalism” and divert money from veterans which is spent on attempting to “re-write history” instead.
“Remembrance Day used to be about raising money,” Mrs. Pardo told the Derbyshire Times. “Now it has a different slant. It is much more about glorification I feel.”
“They [The council] said we were welcome to have our own little ceremony but we weren’t allowed to take part in the main service.”
Councillor Tricia Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s leader, said they had given “careful consideration to the request from the Chesterfield Pro-Peace Group”.
However, they decided white poppies were not “appropriate on this occasion” and offered the chance to use white poppies at an “alternative wreath-laying ceremony”.
“The wreath-laying ceremony [is] held in the spirit of thanksgiving to those who fought and gave their lives in conflict,” he added.
Trevor Coult, a veteran who has been awarded the Military Cross, explained to Breitbart London: “The red poppy stands for sacrifice, the money raised goes to families affected by conflict.
“The white poppy stands for anti-nationalism, and the money raised goes into re-education and re-writing history.
“If people want to wear it, that’s their right because servicemen have died to give them that, but it’s taking away much-needed funds which should be going to families that have been affected by conflict. ”
Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of the British Forces in Afghanistan, recently echoed these sentiments when criticising teachers working with the PPU to “indoctrinate” school children.
He claimed the white poppy is linked to “left-wing ideology”, adding:
“The [red] poppy is not a political hobby horse; it is a means of raising money for the welfare of soldiers and for the families of soldiers who have been killed, it has a specific purpose which is not political.
“The red poppy should be respected as opposed to another fringe political movement.”