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Security guards at the Bristol Royal Infirmary have been banned from wearing the Union Jack on their stab-proof vests.

The 12 members of staff, employed by the NHS, received an e-mail telling them to no longer wear the flags on their uniforms.

An insider at the hospital said around half of the security staff had been wearing the Velcro badges with pride for the past two months, but there had recently been a complaint made by a member of the public.

The hospital worker told the Bristol Post that security guards had received an e-mail asking for the flag badges to be removed with immediate effect.

According to the source, the e-mail stated: “After a complaint from a member of the general public you are to remove the Union Jacks from stab vests.”

The badges are similar to those sold in aid of charity Care of Police Survivors (COPS), a charity dedicated to helping the families of police officers who have lost their lives whilst on duty.

They rose to prominence two weeks ago many police officers donning them in the wake of PC Keith Palmer death in the Westminster attack.

The Bristol hospital worker, who did not want to be named, said: “The badges have been a recent thing. The security guards got new stab vests that had Velcro on them and so decided to get the badges.

“It is an insult to the British people that they are having to be taken off.

“All the security staff are upset about it and cannot quite believe there has been a complaint.

“The staff are doing their best for everyone in the hospital, trying to keep people safe and a complaint like this is made.

“Personally I find it offensive that someone is offended that much by the Union Jack.”

It is not the first time the black and blue flag badges have proved controversial.

In 2015 a Sussex Police officer was asked to remove the badge by his supervisor because it breached uniform policy.

Meanwhile other forces joined suit later that year asking for police officers to take off the flags because it was not functional with policing uniforms and over some concerns that it could cause offence in some communities.

A spokesman for University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust confirmed staff were asked to remove the flag.

He said: “We were contacted recently by a member of the public who saw security officers at the Bristol Royal Infirmary wearing Union Jack flag patches on their uniforms.

"The member of the public commended the security staff on how well they dealt with a difficult incident and asked about a union jack patch that they had on their uniforms as they had not seen it before on an NHS uniform.

“Our trust policy says that uniforms cannot be altered or personalised and that only professional badge adornments are permitted.

"Security staff were therefore reminded of this and asked to remove any non-authorised badges or symbols from their uniforms.

"We also shared with them compliment from the member of public.”