Reform UK reporting Green leader Zack Polanski to police over Instagram post

Reform UK reporting Green leader Zack Polanski to police over Instagram post

Reform UK is reporting Green Party leader Zack Polanski to the police over an Instagram post that featured a man wearing a t-shirt with a guillotine and the text "We're only making plans for Nigel", according to multiple sources. The post was uploaded after the "Green Party Party" event in Bristol, which Polanski attended as a guest speaker.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has called for Polanski to be arrested, saying that if he were to post something similar, he would expect to be arrested. Farage tweeted a screenshot of the post, saying: "This is what Zack Polanski has just posted on his Instagram. If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski."

The Green Party has responded, saying that Polanski had accepted a request to collaborate on a post with several images after attending the public event. However, once the image in question was brought to his attention, he immediately unshared the post. A spokesperson for the party said: "He unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message."

The post has been removed from Polanski's Instagram account, which has over 713,000 followers. The image was part of a series of photographs that Polanski had been tagged in.

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they are looking into the matter, saying: "On Monday, 27 July, we received a third-party report relating to an image shared on social media. We take reports of this nature extremely seriously, and officers are conducting enquiries into the matter."

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions around MPs and politicians' safety, following the death of former Conservative Party minister Ann Widdecombe. Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, has invoked Widdecombe's murder, saying: "Zack Polanski has posted to his 713k Instagram followers a photo of a man in a T-shirt calling for the beheading of Nigel Farage. To do this just two weeks after our friend Ann was murdered is staggering. Polanski is inciting murder. It must be treated as such by the police."

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has previously said that the government will look at security arrangements for MPs as well as those who have left Parliament but are still politically active.

Reform UK has also announced that it will fund 24-hour protection for all its MPs, following the death of Widdecombe. The party's leader, Nigel Farage, has long sounded the alarm over threats to the outfit's politicians, and has been granted a meeting with the Home Office to discuss his security arrangements.