The Greens have accused Reform UK of using the controversy around Zack Polanski reposting a guillotine t-shirt image which appeared to take aim at Nigel Farage as a “political football for their own cynical purposes.”
On Wednesday evening, the Metropolitan Police confirmed they would be taking no further action against Polanski for sharing a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt showing a guillotine and the phrase “we’re only making plans for Nigel”.
The Met said in a statement they did not believe sharing the picture constituted an offence.
However, the force said wearing the t-shirt should be recorded as a crime and they had referred a crime report to Avon and Somerset Police, who cover Bristol where the photo was taken.
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Polanski had accepted a request to collaborate with a photographer on Instagram. The Green leader said he had not realised the guillotine T-shirt was among the images and removed the post the moment he found out.
He accepted he had made a mistake and condemns political violence but has refused to apologise to Nigel Farage.
Speaking to Newsnight on Tuesday, Polanski accused Farage of “ramping up” the issue in a “fundamentally dishonest way.”
This sentiment has been echoed by the Greens once more in the wake of the news that the Met will be taking no further action.
In a statement, a Green Party spokesperson said on Wednesday evening: “The police have examined the evidence and concluded that no crime was committed. This was obvious from the start, as was the fact that Reform were always using this as a political football for their own cynical purposes to distract from questions about their own dodgy donations.”
Meanwhile, Reform have said the Met’s decision shows that “we are living in two-tier Britain.”