Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, has refused to apologise to Reform UK's Nigel Farage for sharing a social media image that included a guillotine. The post showed a man wearing a T-shirt reading "We're only making plans for Nigel" above a picture of a guillotine.
Farage called for Polanski's arrest, and Reform UK reported him to the police. However, Polanski told BBC Newsnight that police had not contacted him. He admitted he "didn't pay enough attention to the t-shirt" and was "horrified" by its "dangerous message."
Polanski's Statement
Polanski said: "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. I think it's quite obvious that I've not done anything wrong other than making an inadvertent mistake."
He added: "That being said, if the police do want to talk to me, of course I'm very happy to cooperate." Polanski said he would not apologise to Farage, stating: "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. I also make sure that I condemn political violence, and also crucially, I make a commitment to be better on my social media."
He further stated: "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."
Reform UK's Response
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."
