Zack Polanski has refused to apologise to Nigel Farage over a social media post that sparked fury. The Green Party leader admitted he made an “inadvertent mistake” by sharing a picture on Instagram of a man wearing a black T-shirt with the message “We’re only making plans for Nigel” and an image of a guillotine, which he later removed.
Refusal to Apologise
Asked if he would say sorry, he told BBC Newsnight: “If I’d done it deliberately, I’d be apologising. 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, I make a commitment to be better on my social media.”
He added: “If Nigel Farage wants to apologise for all the times that he’s put other people in danger, then I’ll be happy to make an apology.”
Polanski's Explanation
Mr Polanski said he “didn’t pay enough attention to the T-shirt” and was “horrified” by its “dangerous message”. He explained: “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.”
He stated 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 co-operate.”
Reform UK and Farage React
A Reform UK source told BBC Newsnight: “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.”
Writing in the Daily Mail, Mr Farage said the Green Party leader “must face the consequences of his appalling decisions”. He wrote: “Political violence is real. It is serious. It needs dealing with.”
A Met Police spokesman said the force was “conducting inquiries” and took “reports of this nature extremely seriously”.
Reform has reported Mr Polanski to the police over the post.
