Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for a public inquiry into the culture and behaviour of the press, stating it is "time we sorted out the Press." This demand, reportedly fueled by media coverage of the Jason Arday affair and a comment piece on the summer weather, has drawn sharp criticism and counter-proposals for an inquiry into the Green Party itself.

Quentin Letts, writing for the Daily Mail, suggested that such an inquiry into the Green Party could be "more revealing, and urgently necessary." Letts argued that while inquiries are detailed affairs that can uncover "historic emails and corporate agendas," a focus on the Green Party would expose its current direction, which he characterized as having been "hijacked by urban Marxists and anti-Semites."

Specific points raised in criticism of the Green Party and its leadership include:

  • The party's deputy leader, Mothin Ali, is noted for a 2024 speech where he reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" in front of a Palestinian flag and hailed his election as a Leeds councillor as a "win for the people of Gaza."
  • Policy proposals attributed to the Green Party include taxing meat, banning new petrol cars, freezing defence spending, and a shift away from nuclear weapons. The party has also been associated with policies like raising the minimum wage and significantly increasing upper tax rates.
  • Concerns have been raised about Mr. Polanski's personal tax record, with reports suggesting he has not always been prompt in paying his own council tax.
  • His past work as a hypnotherapist, where he claimed to be able to increase breast size by looking at women, was also mentioned.
  • The party's stance on drugs has been described as advocating for heroin to be sold on prescription and cannabis to be available through off-licence-style premises. A viewpoint that "women can have penises" has also been attributed to the party.
  • Regarding law enforcement, Mr. Polanski reportedly shared a tweet alleging that police were behaving "violently" towards a man suspected of stabbing two Jewish people in north London. The head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, called this intervention "inaccurate and misinformed."
  • A Green Party conference motion, later withdrawn, proposed reducing reliance on police by shifting funding away from "policing, prisons and surveillance." The motion also suggested limiting police use of pepper spray and Tasers against violent offenders.

Letts contrasted the current Green Party with a past image of "hemp-shirted herbivores and middle-class Good Lifers," suggesting a darker, "authoritarian Leftist" ideology has taken hold. He noted that the party has consistently polled around 10 to 15 percent nationally and appears to appeal to student voters. The article concluded by suggesting an inquiry, akin to the Hutton Inquiry or inquiries into the Covid pandemic and the Post Office Horizon scandal, could reveal the "truth" about the party.

Mention was made of past inquiries such as the Hutton Inquiry, which examined the approach of Tony Blair's press secretary Alastair Campbell and alleged BBC mishandling related to the Iraq War, and more recent inquiries into the Covid pandemic and the Post Office Horizon scandal, which laid bare "vulgarity" and "paranoia about inconvenient truths."