Polanski image row prompts call for politicians to be ‘careful’ on social media

Politicians should be “careful” about how they use social media, a senior minister has said after Zack Polanski was criticised over a picture he shared on Instagram.

The image, which was subsequently unshared from Mr Polanski’s account, featured a man wearing a black T-shirt with the message “We’re only making plans for Nigel” and an image of a guillotine.

The Green Party said Mr Polanski condemned the image on the T-shirt and clicked accept to be tagged in a post with 20 images “without realising there was more to it than he had seen”.

But Reform UK said the party had reported Mr Polanski to the police, with home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf accusing the Green leader of “inciting murder” and Nigel Farage calling for his arrest.

The party’s economic spokesman Robert Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the image was “sick” and showed Mr Polanski “isn’t fit to lead a national political party”.

Asked about the row on Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said there was “a duty on all politicians to be careful about what they post”, especially in light of the killing of former MP Ann Widdecombe earlier this month.

Mr McFadden told Sky News people could “make mistakes” and it was for the police to decide if any action was needed.

He added: “It’s not the first time Zack Polanski has done something like this.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the force was “conducting inquiries” and took “reports of this nature extremely seriously”.

A Green Party spokesperson said: “Zack condemns the image on the T-shirt. He was tagged in a post with 20 images and clicked accept without realising there was more to it than he had seen.

“The T-shirt is clearly in poor taste, especially at a time of heightened fears for the security of public figures having experienced multiple threats himself.

“He and the Green Party call on everyone involved in public discourse to show kindness and not encourage more division.”

Mr Polanski has previously been criticised over his use of social media.

In May, he apologised for sharing a post criticising the police response to the Golders Green stabbings, saying he had done so “in haste”.

At a press conference in London on Tuesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said both Mr Polanski and Mr Farage were “spending too much time on Twitter and Instagram and not spending enough time talking to real people with real problems”.

She later added: “What I actually find is that I’m the only one who’s spending time talking about real issues, while other people are retweeting and tweeting memes and so on.”