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Met drops Polanski case
The Metropolitan Police decided to take no further action against Green Party leader Zack Polanski after he reposted an image of a man wearing a T-shirt with a guillotine and the phrase "we're only making plans for Nigel".
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had reported Polanski to police after the Instagram post, and the Met concluded that an extensive investigation would be "disproportionate and an unreasonable use of police resources".
The Met said it did not believe sharing the picture constituted an offence after considering telecommunications, public order, and incitement offences, and it determined that a crime should be recorded in relation to the wearing of the T-shirt.
The case was transferred to Avon and Somerset Police, which covers Bristol where the photo was taken, and Avon and Somerset Police said "the threshold for a criminal offence has not been met".
In response to the Met’s decision, a Reform UK spokesman said: "Once again we see that we are living in two-tier Britain."
Polanski rejects apology
Zack Polanski told BBC Newsnight that he would not apologise to Farage, saying "You know as well as I do that as soon as I do that Nigel Farage would run all over social media".
In the same interview, Polanski said he would "draw a line and don't play his game" while also saying it was "important we condemn political violence" and that he recognised the controversy as "the political attack that it is".
The BBC reported that Polanski said he had accepted a request to collaborate with a photographer on Instagram and that the guillotine T-shirt was one image in a series of 20.
The BBC also quoted a Reform UK spokesman accusing Polanski of "inciting murder" and said the Met should not treat individuals differently based on their public profile.
Avon and Somerset Police said it had given "Particular consideration" to the context around the image, including its use of song lyrics and the marketing of the T-shirt as satirical.
What police say next
The Met said it would not pursue the case because "our review has concluded that on this occasion, the threshold is not met" for the sharing of the image online.
The Met also said it had referred a crime report to Avon and Somerset Police, which covers Bristol where the photo was taken, and Avon and Somerset Police said it would continue to take action "wherever a threat is identified".
In its decision, Avon and Somerset Police said no complaints were received from people at the event at which the T-shirt was worn and that there was "no evidence the wearer of the T-shirt intended to threaten any individual".
Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf accused Polanski of "inciting murder" after the post, and Farage said Polanski "cannot put out on his social media the image that he did" without consequences.
The BBC reported that Polanski said he had removed the image after noticing it, and that he told Newsnight: "If I'd done it deliberately I'd be apologising" but because it was a mistake he would not apologise to Farage.
