The Union Flag should once again flutter on Front Street but alongside the Bermuda flag.That’s the view of a British MP with an interest in the Overseas Territories who visited the Island this week.Andrew Rosindell came to Bermuda on a fact-finding mission in his capacity as chairman of the British Overseas Territories All Party Parliamentary Group.He is also chairman of the Flags and Heraldry All Party Parliamentary Group, which promotes the flying of the Union Flag and all flags associated with the UK and British Territories.He is famous in the UK for dressing his pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier in a Union Flag waistcoat while out on the election campaign trail.He expressed concern during his visit that the Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, was removed from the Front Street flagpole in October 2009 and replaced with the Bermuda flag.He told The Royal Gazette: “I’m a very strong believer that we should be proud of our heritage and always fly the Union Jack. Of course the Bermuda flag contains the Union Jack and clearly that’s nice that the Bermuda flag is flying.“I’m from England and I like to see the Cross of St George flying as that’s the flag of England but I also like to see the Union Jack.“To be honest I think that we should all fly both flags. I think that we should be proud of being British and English, in my case, and British and Bermudian in the case of the people here, or British and Scottish or British and Gibraltarian. I think you can be both.”Mr Rosindell said he would “absolutely” like to see both flags next to each other on Front Street next time he visits Bermuda.“At the end of the day the Union Jack or Union Flag is the flag that unifies all British people across the world. We should never be afraid to fly that; we should do so with pride, whilst also upholding the flags of our individual countries,” he said.When the Union Flag was taken down in 2009, Mayor of Hamilton Charles Gosling said it would only be raised in future on special occasions such as Royal visits, the Queen’s birthday and Remembrance day.He explained this was because the British flag cannot be flown at half-mast at times of mourning without permission from numerous officials including the Governor, Premier and various members of the Corporation.He said it was simpler to avoid the red tape and fly the Bermuda flag.Deputy Governor David Arkley said Government House had “no difficulty” with the Corporation of Hamilton’s decision. Government House still flies the Union Flag. When the Governor is in Bermuda, it is emblazened with the Governor’s crest and when he is not, it is a plain Union Flag.Yesterday, Mr Gosling said: “I stand by my original position. I would expect at least the Government of Bermuda and Government House to fly the Union Jack but there does need to be somewhere within our Island where we can publicly commemorate the services of our fellow Bermudians and Island residents at the time of their demise as requested by Government or as taken up on by the Corporation. Current protocol does not allow or is not timely enough in today’s fast-paced world.”He added: “I had the opportunity of meeting with Mr Rosindell on two occasions during his visit and while we spent some time talking about a wide range of subjects, this one did not come up. I enjoyed greatly our conversations, we share a number of concerns and passions about the UK and its territories, bringing closer ties and celebrating our mutual heritage. I look forward to his return to our Island and hosting him in our capital city, Hamilton.”lWhat do you think? E-mail news[AT]royalgazette.bm.