A man wearing the the black and white flag of the Islamic State was spotted in central London on Saturday.
The man was pictured walking with a little girl past Big Ben in Westminster, near the Houses of Parliament.
Scotland Yard said police officers spoke to the man, but did not force him to remove the flag as they considered his actions to be within the Public Order Act 1986.
A spokesman said:
“This man was spoken to by officers with consideration given to relevant legislation and a decision was taken by officers at the time that the man was acting within the law. He was not arrested.
“Wearing, carrying or displaying of an emblem or flag, by itself, is not an offence unless the way in which, or the circumstance in which, the emblem is worn, carried or displayed is such as to cause reasonable suspicion that the person is a supporter or member of a proscribed organisation.
“While support of and membership of ISIS is unlawful it is not a criminal offence to advocate the creation of an independent state.”
However, many people to to social media to complain that the police should have confiscated the flag, especially after officers asked a man flying a flag mocking Islamic State was asked to take it down during the recent London Gay Pride march.
The Islamic State, also known by the names ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh, is a proscribed terrorist group, that has seized vast swathes of land with Syria and Iraq. The group has courted infamy by publishing violent videos of mass executions and the destruction of priceless historical artefacts in the locations they captured, most recently in the ancient city of Palmyra.
