The sight of a Nazi swastika flying out of a side window at Hendon Town Hall today (June 30) provoked a volley of complaints from shocked staff and patients at a neighbouring health clinic.

But their anger and horror at what they thought was right-wing extremism taking over Barnet's politics was soothed slightly when they discovered the flag was an artefact in an exhibition for D-Day veterans.

"I'm Jewish," said Naomi Wettreich, a speech and language therapist at Central Hendon Clinic, off The Burroughs. "So when I saw a swastika, I thought it was disgusting. The first impression was that it was something to do with the BNP, and 'how dare they'."

Diane Roberts, her colleague and the clinic administrator, said: "Even if it is an exhibition, it is not appropriate to have it so close to a clinic. All our patients found it absolutely disgusting. They were incensed."

But Councillor Terry Burton, chairman of the Normandy Veterans in north London, saw the funny side.

"You thought the town hall had been taken over I was laughing about this earlier when I saw the flag flying out the window, and I thought, 'oh no', so I brought it back in and lowered the window."

He explained that the flag, with its inflammatory Nazi symbol, was hung against a window because the exhibition, in committee room one of the town hall, had used up all the wall space. But the flag was removed soon after the complaints were made.

Mr Burton continued: "They should come up and see the exhibition. There is a Bren gun here, and grenades, and uniforms, German and American. People should see those too. It's all positive and it's all good. We have a Holocaust memorial bit as well. You would think this would all be common sense."