Green Party leader refuses three times to say sorry to Farage over guillotine T-shirt image – NATIONAL NEWS
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has repeatedly declined to apologise to Nigel Farage after re-sharing a photograph of a man wearing a T-shirt bearing a guillotine and a slogan referencing the Reform UK leader.
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, described the picture as showing someone appearing to call for Farage’s beheading, and suggested it could amount to incitement to murder.
Polanski was reported to the Metropolitan Police over the post, which he subsequently removed, though he told the BBC that officers had not been in touch with him. Speaking to BBC Newsnight, he said he would not say sorry for what he called an inadvertent mistake, one he argued Farage had exploited in a misleading way.
The dispute began on Monday evening, when Polanski shared the image after agreeing to take part in a photographer’s Instagram collaboration from a party. He said the offending picture was the fifth in a set of twenty. Farage responded on X with a screenshot of the post, arguing that if he himself had shared something so provocative he would expect to be arrested, and that the same standard should apply to Polanski.
When Newsnight asked Polanski whether he owed Farage an apology, he said that had the repost been deliberate, an apology would be warranted, but since it was a mistake, he felt it more important to acknowledge the error, condemn political violence, and pledge to be more careful on social media in future.
Pressed a second time, he declined again, arguing that Farage had cropped the image to suggest he had shared it himself, calling this dishonest and something that had only made matters worse. Polanski also revealed he had received a death threat that Tuesday, saying the escalating claim that he had incited his own murder left him feeling unsafe too.
Given a third opportunity to apologise, he held his position, saying he was aware that doing so would let Farage claim vindication over the incitement accusation and reignite the row. He said it was important to draw a line rather than engage on Farage’s terms, while still stressing the need to condemn political violence and keep people safe. He added that he viewed the episode itself as a political attack, and suggested he would consider apologising if Farage did the same for occasions on which he felt Farage had endangered others.
Polanski said he had not clocked the slogan on the T-shirt at the time, explaining that he had simply been looking at party photos and had noticed the man’s rainbow hat rather than his top. He described the situation as surreal, and said it would be strange for police to question him given he believed he had done nothing beyond make an honest error.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed there was no update on the complaint lodged on Monday. Separately, Reform UK asked the monitoring officer at the Greater London Authority, where Polanski sits as an elected member, to examine whether he had breached the code of conduct. Keith Prince, a Reform London Assembly Member, dismissed Polanski’s claim of ignorance as not credible.
A Reform UK source went further, telling Newsnight it was troubling that Polanski would not apologise despite, in their view, accepting that the post was both wrong and dangerous, and questioned his suitability to lead a national party.
Asked about the row, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said politicians had a responsibility to think carefully before posting online, pointing to the recent death of former MP Ann Widdecombe as a reason for particular caution.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, speaking at a press conference on prisoner early release, declined to take either side, instead suggesting both Polanski and Farage should spend less time online and more time engaging with the public. She argued the pair were preoccupied with a “petty squabble” while more pressing matters, such as the possible release of thousands of prisoners over the summer, went unaddressed. She added that she seemed to be the only party leader focused on substantive issues, rather than exchanging memes on social media.
Comments (0)