A Liberal Democrat council has ordered a landlord to paint over the St George’s Cross on the front of his pub after one person complained.
Jerry Kunkler, the landlord of Moonrakers Inn in Pewsey, Wiltshire, since 1981, painted the England flag on his pub in 2016.
Mr Kunkler, Wiltshire’s longest-standing councillor, repainted the exterior in 2022 ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
But Wiltshire Council launched an investigation into the paint job following a complaint in November 2025 after the Grade II listed pub featured in a Reform UK promotional video.
They ordered him to ‘bring the property back to its former state’ following the complaint which said the 17th century pub looked like ‘the headquarters of the National Front’.
In an email, Steven Jenkins, the council’s planning enforcement officer, said: ‘It has been brought to my attention that you have undertaken some unauthorised works to your property without first obtaining listed building consent.
‘I must therefore request that the red paint be gone over/removed with white to resolve the breach and bring the property back to its former state.’
The landlord was told he was in breach of planning rules and has now been forced to submit a retrospective application for planning consent.
Jerry Kunkler, the landlord of Moonrakers Inn in Pewsey, Wiltshire, since 1981, painted the England flag on his pub in 2016
The council is expected to make a decision by March.
Mr Kunkler, a Conservative councillor, said: ‘I arranged for the painting of the cross up in 2016 for the football World Cup finals in Japan.
‘Apart from the two years of Covid, the red cross has been on the pub for over nine years.
‘Nothing’s been said about it until now.’
Previously Mr Kunkler said he thought the complaint received in November 2025 was because of the ‘hoo-ha’ surrounding flags being put up across the country – something he said the pub’s flag had ‘nothing to do with’.
He added: ‘The Moonrakers Inn is a sports bar, and I support everything England and this pub has been a venue for all those who want to watch England play, whether it is in the men’s or women’s football World Cup, men’s or women’s rugby World Cup and Six Nations, and of course the men’s and women’s Euros.
‘I’m leaving it up for the Six Nations and the World Cup.
‘This is all about the controversy around the flags. This has nothing to do with Operation Raise the Flag.
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Mr Kunkler, Wiltshire’s longest-standing councillor, repainted the exterior in 2022 ahead of the World Cup
‘I have looked at the rules and if the Council says I need planning permission, I’ll apply for it.’
The Moonrakers Inn, an inspiration for the award-winning play Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth, is on Pewsey’s high street, and Mr Kunkler has decorated the inside for occasions such as George’s Day.
He added: ‘We have also held the jubilee here. I am a bit of a royalist I was lucky to meet the Queen in 2012.
