Green Party's Polanski refuses to apologise over guillotine t-shirt post

Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has declined to offer a direct apology to Nigel Farage after re-posting an image of a man wearing a t-shirt displaying a guillotine and the phrase "we're only making plans for Nigel". The incident led Reform UK to report Mr Polanski to the Metropolitan Police, with the party's home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, stating the image constituted an 'incitement to murder'.

Polanski's explanation and refusal to apologise

Mr Polanski described the re-post as an "inadvertent mistake", telling BBC Newsnight that he had not read the slogan on the t-shirt at the time he shared the image. He explained that he had accepted a request to collaborate with an Instagram account belonging to a photographer at an event, and was primarily observing people socialising. He stated that he would not apologise because he believed doing so would allow Mr Farage to falsely claim justification for accusing him of inciting murder. Mr Polanski also suggested that Mr Farage had amplified the issue in a "fundamentally dishonest way" by cropping the image. He added that he had received a death threat earlier that day and felt that the escalating language was placing him in a dangerous position.

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When asked for a second and third time if he would apologise, Mr Polanski reiterated his stance, stating that he condemned political violence and was committed to improving his social media conduct. He suggested that if Mr Farage were to apologise for times he had put others in danger, he might consider apologising. Mr Polanski also noted that it would be unusual for the police to contact him over what he considered an obvious error.

Reform UK's reaction and police involvement

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, posted a screenshot of the incident on X, formerly Twitter, stating that if he had posted something similarly inflammatory, he would expect to be arrested and that Mr Polanski should be too. Reform UK has also asked the Greater London Authority's monitoring officer to investigate whether Mr Polanski, an elected member, breached the code of conduct. A Reform UK source told BBC Newsnight that it was "astonishing and quite frankly sickening" that Mr Polanski would not apologise, adding that he was "not fit to lead a national political party".

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The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they received a complaint regarding the matter on Monday but stated there is currently no update on their investigation. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden commented on the situation, highlighting the responsibility politicians have to be careful with their social media posts.