Reform UK has called for Green Party leader Zack Polanski to be sacked and arrested after he shared an image appearing to show a man wearing a T-shirt with a guillotine and the message 'We’re only making plans for Nigel.'
Polanski later unshared the post on his Instagram account when he realised what it contained, the Green Party said. But Reform UK reported him to the police, with home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf accusing him of 'inciting murder' and Nigel Farage calling for his arrest.
Political backlash
Reform's economic spokesman Robert Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the image was 'sick' and showed Polanski 'isn’t fit to lead a national political party'.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said there was 'a duty on all politicians to be careful about what they post', warning this was particularly the case in light of the killing of former MP Ann Widdecombe earlier this month. McFadden added that people could 'make mistakes' and it was for the police to decide if any action was needed, noting 'It’s not the first time Zack Polanski has done something like this.'
Police and Green Party response
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the force was 'conducting inquiries' and took 'reports of this nature extremely seriously'.
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.'
Polanski has previously been criticised over his social media use. In May, he apologised for sharing a post criticising the police response to the Golders Green stabbings, saying he had done so 'in haste'.
Conservative leader's comment
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Polanski and Farage of 'spending too much time on Twitter and Instagram and not spending enough time talking to real people with real problems'. She 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.'
