Devon Flag Could Replace EU Flag On Number Plates

The Devon flag could be used to replace EU stars on number plates after Brexit if two Westcountry MPs get their way in a debate being held in the House of Commons today.

Some British motorists are already using stickers and black tape to cover up the European Union blue and gold stars flag.

The DVLA has said it is 'too early to say' what will happen now that the UK has voted to leave the EU, heightening confusion about what will happen when the new registration numbers come out in September.

Now two Conservative Cornish MPs, Scott Mann and Derek Thomas, are supporting plans to replace the EU banner with local flags, including the distinctive Cornish St Piran's black flag or the green flag of Devon.

Under current laws, it's illegal to do so on licences or plates.

The Department for Transport said: "Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the EU and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force."

The DVLA said that it's "a customer's choice as to whether or not to have a flag on their number plate".

Meanwhile, motorists across the country have decided to by-pass the confusion and manually remove the EU flags or replace them with Union flag stickers.

Covering up the EU part of the number plate isn't in itself an offence, but in general tampering with a number plate is very ill-advised.Alex Garner, road traffic law specialist at Stephensons law firm

Another said: 'Just ordered my Union flag stickers to replace EU flag on number plate (only noticed it today o'wise would have done it ages ago) #Brexit.'

But traffic law specialists have voiced concern that these motorists could be risking potential prosecution and a massive fine.

'The regulations with a number plate are very descriptive, so they have clear permitted fonts, sizes, that sort of thing,' Alex Garner, road traffic law specialist at Stephensons law firm said.

'Any attempt to cover up part of the registration number itself would absolutely be an offence.

'With covering up the flags, you have to be careful not to interfere with the visibility of the registration number. So using a reflective material like duct tape could interfere with a speed camera flash for example, or using a black masking tape in a thin strip could look like a '1' or an 'L'.

So what are the top selling number plates in the UK? The DVLA has been selling private plates to UK motorists since 1989. During this time, there have been a number of records set, but most of the top 10 have been bought in the past 15 years. Here’s what currently makes the list:

25 0 – A Ferrari dealer bought this for £518k in 2014. It is now on a £10 million Ferrari 250 SWB.
F 1 – A businessman, Afzal Khan, bought this for £440k in 2008 and put it on his McLaren-Mercedes SLR.
S 1 – This was bought in 2008 for £404k by an anonymous buyer.
1 D – Businessman Nabil Bishara bought this plate in 2009 (before One Direction was formed, so it is not a reference to the band) for £352k.
M 1 – Businessman Mike McCoomb bought this number plate in 2006 for £331k, apparently for his son, who was 10 at the time.
VIP 1 – Chelsea owner and businessman Roman Abramovich bought this plate for £285k in 2006.
51 NGH – This number plate, which looks like the surname Singh, was sold in 2006 for £254k.
1 RH – Businessman Robert Haverson bought this in 2006 for £247k.
K1 NGS – This reg plate, which looks like the word “kings”, was bought anonymously in 1993 for £231k.
1 0 – This very simple but striking number plate was bought anonymously in 2009 for £170k.

These are large amounts of money, but they are all small compared to the top-selling number plates found in other parts of the world. Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, has the record for the most expensive number plate ever sold. That number plate was a simple “1”. It was bought in 2008 by businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri for £7.25 million.

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