Green leader Polanski refuses to apologise to Farage over guillotine T-shirt post as police investigate

The Instagram post

On Monday evening, Zack Polanski shared a series of 20 images from a Green Party event in Bristol on his Instagram account, which has 713,000 followers. One photograph showed a man wearing a black T-shirt with an image of a guillotine and the slogan "We're only making plans for Nigel", a reference to the 1979 XTC song. Polanski later said he accepted a collaboration request from the photographer and clicked accept without realising the image was among the set. He deleted the post shortly after.

Polanski's refusal to apologise

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Polanski refused three times to apologise to Nigel Farage. He described the post as an "inadvertent mistake" and condemned political violence, but argued that Farage had cropped the image to make it appear as if Polanski had posted it himself, calling that "fundamentally dishonest". He added that he had received a death threat earlier on Tuesday and that Farage's language was putting him in a dangerous spot.

“If Nigel Farage wants to apologise for all the times that he's put other people in danger then I will be happy to make an apology.”

Reform UK's complaint and police inquiry

Reform UK reported the post to the Metropolitan Police. Home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said the image showed "a photo of a man calling for the beheading of Nigel Farage" and that Polanski was "inciting murder". Farage himself wrote on X: "If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski." The Met confirmed it had received a third-party report and was conducting inquiries, but no formal charges have been announced. Reform London Assembly Group Leader Alex Wilson said Polanski had "deflected blame and not apologised for his dangerous social media use" and noted previous controversies over his posts.

Heightened security fears after Widdecombe murder

The row comes two weeks after the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a former Conservative minister and Reform UK spokesperson, who was allegedly attacked with a hammer by a man described in court as a left-wing extremist. The killing has heightened concerns about the safety of public figures. The Green Party spokesperson said the T-shirt was "clearly in poor taste, especially at a time of heightened fears for the security of public figures", noting that Polanski himself had experienced multiple threats.

Green Party and photographer responses

The Green Party said Polanski condemned the image and had not realised it was in the post. The photographer, using the username just.barold, apologised to Polanski on X, saying it was "not his fault" and that he had self-reported to police. He said the T-shirt was satirical and not a serious threat. The T-shirt is sold online for £20, described as a nod to punk music or political satire.