Zack Polanski has refused three times to apologise to Nigel Farage over re-posting a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt with an image of a guillotine and the slogan "we're only making plans for Nigel". The Green Party of England and Wales leader said the post was an "inadvertent mistake" and insisted Farage had amplified it in a "fundamentally dishonest way".
What triggered the row?
The dispute began on Monday evening when Polanski shared the image, which he said was the fifth picture in a series of 20 from a party. He said he had accepted a request to collaborate with the Instagram account of a photographer at the event.
Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, said the image showed a "photo of man calling for the beheading of Nigel Farage", which he said could be an "incitement to murder". Reform UK leader Farage posted a screenshot on X and said: "If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski."
Why did Polanski refuse to apologise?
Asked if he wanted to apologise to Farage, Polanski said:
"Well, if I'd done it deliberately I'd be apologising but because this was a mistake I think the important thing is that I point out this was a mistake, that I also make sure that I condemn political violence, and also crucially I make a commitment to be better on social media."
When asked a second time whether he would apologise, Polanski refused because he said Farage had cropped the image to make it look like he had posted it himself, which he said was
"fundamentally dishonest"and only amplified the problem.
Polanski said he had received a death threat earlier on Tuesday and added:
"The ramping up of the language to say 'this is incitement to murder me' feels like that's also putting me in a dangerous spot."
Given a third chance to apologise, he doubled down and said:
"You know as well as I do that as soon as I do that Nigel Farage would run all over social media saying he was correct about incitement to murder and this would all ramp up again.
"I think it's important that I draw a line and don't play his game... It is important that he's kept safe, it is important we condemn political violence, but I also recognise this as the political attack that it is."
He added:
"If Nigel Farage wants to apologise for all the times that he's put other people in danger then I will be happy to make an apology."
What did Polanski say about the original post?
Polanski said he had not read the slogan on the T-shirt when he accepted the collaboration because
"what I was seeing was people partying"and that he only noticed the man was wearing a rainbow hat as he flicked through.
He said:
"It feels quite surreal to be having this conversation,"and added:
"I think it would be odd for the police to speak to me about that because I think it's quite obvious I've not done anything wrong other than make an inadvertent mistake."
He also told the BBC he had not been contacted by police. The Metropolitan Police said there was no update on the complaint they had received on Monday.
What action has Reform taken?
On Tuesday, Reform asked the monitoring officer from the Greater London Authority, where Polanski is an elected member, to investigate whether he had breached the code of conduct.
Keith Prince, a Reform London Assembly Member, said:
"To say that he was unaware of what he was promoting is frankly risible."
A Reform UK source told night:
"It's truly astonishing and quite frankly sickening that Zack Polanski won't apologise for inciting murder.
"He admits it was wrong. He admits it's dangerous, but he still refuses to apologise. Mr Polanski is not fit to lead a national political party."
What has been said from government?
Asked about the row on Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said there was a
"duty on all politicians to be careful about what they post", especially in light of the death of former MP Ann Widdecombe earlier this month.
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