Is the Royal British Legion not selling poppies in certain areas? Fact Check

Messages online claim that the Royal British Legion has been prohibited from selling poppies in certain parts of the UK because of complaints from ethnic minorities.

FALSE

Many messages claim that it is because of complaints from Muslims, or that an ethnic minority has “taken offense” to the selling of poppies.

An example of such a rumour taken from social media can be read below.

I’ve just heard some really shocking news. The Royal British Legion are not selling poppies in certain areas on Nov 11 this year. This is because some minorities say that it will upset them. I say sod off … The poppy is a symbol of reverence for our fallen heroes of all the wars the BRITISH military have fought in. BRITAIN STAND UP AND SAY ‘WE WANT THE POPPY SOLD EVERYWHERE IN THE UK’. THIS IS OUR RIGHT TO REVERE OUR FALLEN.. PLEASE RE-POST

Such messages are false, and circulate every year in the UK during the run up to Remembrance Day in November. Numerous variations of the above messages have circulated previously, but none of the them have been able to support their spurious claims that the Royal British Legion have ever been prohibited from selling poppies in any part of the UK because of causing offence to minorities.

Such messages are an extension to the on-going far right narrative that claims ethnic minorities are destroying or diluting British culture, forcing their own own culture onto British people, or forcing British people to compromise on their own traditions or values. However, this narrative often relies on misinformation and propaganda to spread, and this is definitely the case with the above message concerning poppies.

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Occasionally, genuine controversies surrounding the selling or wearing of Remembrance poppies have occurred, and in many cases these controversies have been misconstrued by those wishing to promote a certain agenda.

For example, for a short period of time in 2011, the Royal British Legion was prohibited from selling poppies in Birmingham City centre due to licensing restrictions. Such a ban was soon lifted, but rumours that it had happened because of offending minorities had already begun. It is also true that some stores have found themselves in the firing line for prohibiting their staff from wearing poppies due to uniform restrictions. Again however, this had nothing to do with minorities.

After some research, we failed to find a single reported incident where the Royal British Legion were prohibited or obstructed from selling poppies because of any perceived offence or complaints concerning minorities.

As we stated above, this is just one example of the on-going narrative that claims British cultures are being devalued thanks to immigration. The claim that something deemed inherently “British” has been banned thanks to minorities is one that has taken on many variants. Similar rumours falsely claimed English football shirts were to be banned because they offended minorities (false) and that Christmas decorations in certain areas were banished because they offended minorities (false) and even images of the St. Georges cross were being removed by Facebook because they offended minorities (false again.)

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Of course, while bigotry exists in the UK, so will these rumours. It is worth noting that stories about ethnic minorities encouraging the sales of poppies far outweigh any stories to the opposite effect – however, such stories you’ll unlikely see shared by those who prefer to spread scaremongering misinformation instead.

Finally, we give the British Legion themselves the last word. Back in 2011, they confirmed the rumours were nonsense.

There is a rumour that poppies will not be sold in certain areas this year. It is 100% NOT TRUE Poppies will be sold as normal. Pls RT

The Royal British Legion has never been told they cannot collect poppies in certain areas because they may offend minorities. Remember though, when you do buy your poppy, make sure it is from a someone selling on behalf of the Royal British Legion and that your money ends up going to them.