Green party leader Zack Polanski has said he made an “inadvertent mistake” by sharing an Instagram post of a man wearing a T-shirt featuring an image of a guillotine and the phrase “we’re only making plans for Nigel”, but he repeatedly said he would not apologise to Nigel Farage.
Polanski told the BBC’s Newsnight programme he had accepted a request to collaborate with a photographer on Instagram, with the first photo in a set of 20 showing himself, and the fifth showing the T-shirt. The image was later removed from Polanski’s feed, with the Greens saying the T-shirt was “clearly in poor taste”. Polanski told Newsnight:
“As soon as I was aware of what happened, I unaccepted it and took it down.”
He repeatedly ruled out apologising to Farage.
“If I’d done it deliberately, I’d be apologising,”he said.
“But because this was a mistake, I think the important thing is that I point out it’s a mistake, that I also make sure that I condemn political violence and also crucially make a commitment to be better on my social media.”
Reform UK has reported Polanski to the Metropolitan police. Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, accused Polanski of
“inciting murder”, and Farage has called for Polanski to be arrested. The Met said it had and would take no further action in relation to the sharing of the image online.
Criticising Farage’s messaging, Polanski said:
“If wants to apologise for all the times that he’s put other people in danger than I’ll be happy to make an apology.”
Writing in the Daily Mail, Farage said Polanski must
“face the consequences of his appalling decisions”, adding:
“Political violence is real, it is serious, it needs dealing with.”
Polanski stressed on Newsnight:
“This was not my post, it was a collaboration from a photographer. It had 20 images and I just didn’t look carefully enough and I accepted it.
“As soon as I was aware of what happened, I unaccepted it and took it down. I think it would be odd for the police to speak to me about that because I think it’s quite obvious that I’ve not done anything wrong other than making an inadvertent mistake. That being said, if the police do want to talk to me, of course I’m very happy to cooperate.”
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.”
The work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, when asked about the controversy, said all politicians had
“a duty to be careful about what they post”. He said people could make mistakes and it was for the police to decide if any action was needed.
“It’s not the first time Zack Polanski has done something like this,”McFadden added.
In May, Polanski for sharing a post on X critical of police after the Golders Green stabbings. Police were filmed detaining a suspect after two Jewish people were stabbed in the north-west suburb. Footage of the arrest shared on social media showed two officers appearing to kick the man on or near his head. Polanski retweeted, without comment, a post on X alleging that officers were
“repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head”when he was already incapacitated by a stun gun.
When challenged on Newsnight over why he chose to appear on television to highlight his mistake but not apologise, Polanski replied:
“They’re different mistakes. This time I’ve inadvertently accepted something and as soon as I’ve realised I’ve corrected it. They’re different things.”
One national opinion poll this week showed the Greens’ score falling by three percentage points, while a second showed the party holding at 13%, well above the level before Polanski became leader last September.
A Met police spokesperson said:
“We absolutely understand the reaction to this image being shared online, particularly in the context of increasing threats towards politicians.
“While there will be people who will argue that those who shared the image in this Instagram post should be subject to criminal action, our review has concluded that on this occasion, the threshold is not met.”
A spokesperson said:
“The police have examined the evidence and concluded that no crime was committed. This was obvious from the start, as was the fact that Reform were always using this as a political football for their own cynical purposes to distract from questions about their own dodgy donations.”
What is the dispute about?
The dispute centres on an Instagram collaboration that Polanski accepted from a photographer and later removed after noticing that one of the 20 images included a man wearing a guillotine T-shirt. The Green party said the shirt was “clearly in poor taste”, while Reform UK said the post amounted to serious misconduct.
How has Polanski responded?
Polanski has said the post was an “inadvertent mistake” and that he corrected it as soon as he became aware of it. He has condemned political violence, said he would be better on social media, and repeatedly refused to apologise to Nigel Farage.
What have police and political figures said?
The Metropolitan police said its review concluded that the threshold for criminal action was not met and that no further action would be taken. Reform UK reported Polanski to police, Zia Yusuf accused him of “inciting murder”, and Farage called for him to be arrested.
Pat McFadden said politicians had “a duty to be careful about what they post”, while noting that it was for police to decide whether action was needed. He also said, “It’s not the first time Zack Polanski has done something like this,” referring to a separate incident in May.
What happened in May?
In May, Polanski for sharing a post on X critical of police after the Golders Green stabbings. Police were filmed detaining a suspect after two Jewish people were stabbed in the north-west suburb. Footage of the arrest shared on social media showed two officers appearing to kick the man on or near his head. Polanski retweeted, without comment, a post on X alleging that officers were “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head” when he was already incapacitated by a stun gun.
How has this affected the Greens?
One national opinion poll this week showed the Greens’ score falling by three percentage points, while a second showed the party holding at 13%, well above the level before Polanski became leader last September.
What do the side’s supporters say?
A Reform UK source told night that it was “truly astonishing and quite frankly sickening” that Polanski would not apologise. The source said he admitted it was wrong and dangerous, but still refused to apologise, adding that he was not fit to lead a national political party.
The Green leader, meanwhile, has insisted that he did not intend to share the image and that police speaking to him would be unnecessary, though he said he would cooperate if contacted. He has also argued that Farage should apologise for past conduct that he says has put other people in danger.
Key Facts
- Polanski shared an Instagram collaboration that included a guillotine T-shirt image and later removed it.
- He called it an “inadvertent mistake” and refused to apologise to Nigel Farage.
- Reform UK reported him to the Metropolitan police, but the Met said no further action would be taken.
- Farage said Polanski must “face the consequences of his appalling decisions”.
- In May, Polanski faced criticism over a separate X post after the Golders Green stabbings.
