Zack Polanski has been coming under mounting pressure over the past 24 hours after re-tweeting a post on X which accused criticised officers for using force on the terrorist suspect in Golders Green.
On Friday 1 May, he apologised. In a statement, Polanski said he was sorry for “sharing a tweet in haste” adding, “everyone in leadership has a responsibility for lowering the temperature at a time of such tension”. (It should be noted that unusually for a high-profile politician, Polanski manages his own social media account.)
Polanski’s decision to re-share the post was criticised by Mark Rowley, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police who wrote a letter to the Green Party leader, accusing him of amplifying “inaccurate and misinformed commentary”. When asked about the letter on the Today programme this morning Rowley denied using the letter to make a “political point”. Keir Starmer said Polanski’s decision to share the post was “disgraceful”.
Other senior Greens have appeared to distance themselves from Polanski. Anthony Slaughter, the leader of the Welsh Green party described re-tweeting the comments as “inappropriate”. While Rachel Millward, the party’s deputy leader told last night’s edition of the BBC’s Question Time programme that she was “extremely grateful” for the emergency services response. She described the officers as “brave”. In his apology, Polanski asked Rowley to meet with him.
This is dangerous territory for Polanski. This incident came in the midst of a week in which two members of the Lambeth Green Party were arrested on charges relating to alleged anti-Semitism, while the Newcastle Green Party saw a fourth complaint of anti-Semitism against one of its candidates.
It’s not hard to imagine that this latest mistake has exasperated Green party insiders. The party has been scrambling to deal with a number of reports of anti-Semitism against candidates. The New Statesman understands that disciplinary action is beginning to be taken by the party regarding these candidates, and at least one person has been suspended. Polanski’s actions and subsequent apology have likely only added to a difficult situation for the party.
[Further reading: Zack Polanski and the anti-Semitism test]
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