Green Party leader Zack Polanski has refused to apologize for sharing an image of a T-shirt depicting a guillotine and the slogan "We're only making plans for Nigel." Reform UK, the party of Nigel Farage, claims the image incites murder and has reported Polanski to the police.
Polanski, 43, described the act as an "inadvertent mistake" made during a social media collaboration. He stated he did not pay enough attention to the image before sharing it with his 713,000 Instagram followers on Monday. "As soon as I was aware of what happened, I unaccepted it and took it down," Polanski told BBC Newsnight. He added that he was "horrified" by the "dangerous message" on the T-shirt and believes he has "not done anything wrong other than making an inadvertent mistake."
Despite calls for an apology, Polanski has maintained his stance, stating that an apology would be "false" as the mistake was not deliberate. He also suggested that if Farage were to apologize for past actions, he might consider an apology. Polanski refused multiple times when asked by presenter Victoria Derbyshire if he would say sorry to Farage.
Reform UK's home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, accused Polanski of "inciting murder," and Nigel Farage himself called for his political opponent's arrest. A Reform UK source told BBC Newsnight that it was "astonishing and quite frankly sickening" that Polanski would not apologize, adding, "He admits it was wrong. He admits it's dangerous, but he still refuses to apologize."
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they are "conducting inquiries" into the matter and take "reports of this nature extremely seriously."
Lord Walney, the government's former adviser on political violence, called the post "sickening" and unacceptable, especially in light of the recent killing of a senior Reform UK member. He stated that "there must be serious consequences for Zack Polanski after he shared material implying the assassination of another politician."
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden commented that politicians have a "duty to be careful about what they post," but acknowledged that people can "make mistakes" and left it to the police to decide on any necessary action. He also remarked that this was not the first time Polanski had faced controversy over social media use.
The T-shirt was reportedly sold by Manchester-based Sabcat Printing for £20 and was described as "a cryptic design for difficult times." The addition of a guillotine to the slogan, thought to reference a 1979 song title by the band XTC, suggests a darker political commentary. Sabcat Printing has since removed the item from its website.
Polanski has previously apologized for social media posts, including one in May that he admitted to sharing "in haste" and which criticized the police response to the Golders Green stabbings.