The Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, has faced backlash for reposting a comment on X suggesting police used excessive force when arresting a suspect in the Golders Green stabbing. The post, which Polanski shared without comment, referred to Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley and alleged that officers 'repeatedly and violently kicked a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by a Taser'.
A Home Office minister condemned the action, stating: 'The Green Party has hit a new low.' The Jewish community expressed gratitude to the police for apprehending a 'knife-wielding terrorist'. The minister added: 'If a terrorist won’t drop the knife used to stab two Jews, then any sensible person would expect the police to use force.'
Polanski, who is Jewish, has previously faced criticism over handling antisemitism within his party. The Greens have been accused of accepting members expelled from Labour over antisemitism. Two Green candidates in Lambeth were recently arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred over alleged antisemitic social media posts.
A Green Party source said Polanski had seen the video and 'doesn’t know the full picture', but called for more understanding of the police response. The suspect in the Golders Green attack had been referred to the Prevent counter-extremism scheme in 2020, but his case was closed within six weeks.
