Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned Green Party leader Zack Polanski as 'disgraceful' and unfit to lead a political party after Polanski shared a social media post criticising police conduct during the arrest of a suspect in the Golders Green stabbings. Two Jewish people were stabbed in north-west London on Wednesday, and footage of the arrest showed officers appearing to kick the suspect on or near the head.
Polanski retweeted a post alleging that police were 'repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head' while he was incapacitated by a stun gun. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Starmer said police may have believed the suspect carried an explosive device in his rucksack, adding that officers must make split-second decisions in dangerous situations. 'For politicians to wade in, as Zack Polanski did, is disgraceful. He's not fit to lead any political party,' Starmer said.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley wrote to Polanski, calling his comments 'inaccurate and misinformed' and praising the officers' actions as 'nothing short of extraordinary'. Rowley later told the BBC he was 'simply dealing with operational policing and defending my officers'. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also criticised Polanski, saying: 'If someone Zack Polanski loved had just been stabbed, I don't think he would be worried about how the police were disarming that person.'
Polanski apologised on Friday afternoon, stating he shared the tweet 'in haste' and accepted that social media was not the appropriate forum for discussing police responses. He invited Rowley to meet him to discuss the matter. In a separate post, Polanski noted that during a campaign visit to Hastings, a group of protesters directed Nazi salutes at him, adding: 'Today the prime minister uses his office to attack the only Jewish party leader to score political points.'
The row coincided with a statement from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, who promised to tackle all hate crimes firmly, warning of a 'deeply troubling rise in antisemitic incidents across the country'. He said the Crown Prosecution Service would use the full force of the law to prosecute those responsible.
