Zack Polanski is facing a misconduct probe over a social media post that Reform UK has claimed was an "incitement to murder" Nigel Farage.
The image, posted on the Green Party leader's Instagram page, showed a man wearing a T-shirt with an image of a guillotine, along with the caption: "We're only making plans for Nigel".
Reform UK reports Polanski to police
Reform UK leader Mr Farage called for Mr Polanski to be arrested for sharing the controversial image. The Metropolitan Police are "conducting inquiries" after Mr Farage's party reported Mr Polanski to police.
Pressure on the London Assembly member deepened on Tuesday as Reform UK's London Assembly Members submitted a formal code of conduct complaint against him. They called the post "a clear call to political violence, sanctioned and shared by the Green Party Leader".
Polanski denies knowledge
The Green Party leader has claimed that he did not realise the picture was in the post when he shared it and has since deleted the post. A Green Party spokesperson said: "Zack condemns the image on the T-shirt. He was tagged in a post with 20 images and clicked accept without realising there was more to it than he had seen."
"The T-shirt is clearly in poor taste, especially at a time of heightened fears for the security of public figures having experienced multiple threats himself. He and the Green Party call on everyone involved in public discourse to show kindness and not encourage more division."
Reform UK and Conservative reactions
Alex Wilson AM, Reform UK London Assembly Group Leader, said: "I am deeply troubled by the fact that Zack Polanski has deflected blame and not apologised for his dangerous social media use. This is not the first time he has got into trouble for his posts, having previously scolded the brave police officers who apprehended the alleged Golders Green attacker. There is no doubt that this vile post is incitement to murder."
Cllr Keith Prince AM, London Assembly Member and Leader of Havering Council, said: "I was appalled to see that Zack Polanski co-authored a post inciting violence against Nigel Farage. To say that he was unaware of what he was promoting is frankly risible."
Mr Farage shared a screenshot of the post on X on Monday with the caption: "This is what Zack Polanski has just posted on his instagram. If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski."
Reform spokesperson for home affairs Zia Yusuf also called for Mr Polanski's arrest, adding that sharing the image weeks after the alleged murder of Ann Widdecombe was "staggering". He wrote on social media: "Zack Polanski has posted to his 713k Instagram followers a photo of a man in a T-shirt calling for the beheading of Nigel Farage. To do this just 2 weeks after our friend Ann was murdered is staggering. Polanski is inciting murder. It must be treated as such by the police."
Government and police response
Asked about the row on Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said there was "a duty on all politicians to be careful about what they post", especially in light of the killing of former MP Ann Widdecombe earlier this month. Mr McFadden told Sky News people could "make mistakes" and it was for the police to decide if any action was needed. He added: "It's not the first time Zack Polanski has done something like this."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the force was "conducting inquiries" and took "reports of this nature extremely seriously".
Mr Polanski has previously been criticised over his use of social media. In May, he apologised for sharing a post criticising the police response to the Golders Green stabbings, saying he had done so "in haste".
At a press conference in London on Tuesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said both Mr Polanski and Mr Farage were "spending too much time on Twitter and Instagram and not spending enough time talking to real people with real problems". She later added: "What I actually find is that I'm the only one who's spending time talking about real issues, while other people are retweeting and tweeting memes and so on."
