Police examine Zack Polanski post after Reform UK complaint

Last updated: 27 July 2026

British readers are being asked to weigh a fresh dispute over political speech, online responsibility and the safety of public figures. The Metropolitan Police are conducting enquiries after Reform UK reported an Instagram image shared by Green Party leader Zack Polanski. The picture showed a man wearing a T-shirt carrying the words “We’re only making plans for Nigel” above an image of a guillotine, and it was later removed from Polanski’s account.

The Story at a Glance

Reform UK said the image amounted to a threat against its leader, Nigel Farage, and reported the matter to police. Farage posted a screenshot on X and argued that Polanski should be arrested if the same standard would apply to him. Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, described the image as “inciting murder”.

The Green Party rejected that interpretation of Polanski’s intent. It said he had accepted a collaboration request on a post containing 20 images after attending a party event, without realising the T-shirt picture was included. According to the party, he removed the post as soon as the image was brought to his attention and “unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message”.

The BBC reported that Polanski had not been contacted by police. The Met confirmed only that it had received a third-party report and that officers were making enquiries, meaning no charge or arrest was announced in the supplied reports.

How the Story Developed

The controversy began with a carousel of photographs from a Green Party event on Sunday. Polanski, who had 713,000 Instagram followers according to the reports, accepted a request to collaborate on the post. One image showed the T-shirt combining a line associated with XTC’s 1979 song “Making Plans for Nigel” and a guillotine graphic.

Farage then circulated a screenshot on X, saying he would expect arrest if he posted something similarly “inciteful”. Reform UK formally reported the post, while Yusuf said the image called for Farage’s beheading. The Green Party responded by saying Polanski had not knowingly selected or endorsed the image and had immediately unshared it.

On Monday, 27 July, the Metropolitan Police said it had received the report and was conducting enquiries. A freelance photographer using the name just.barold later claimed responsibility for taking and posting the photograph, apologised to Polanski and said the image was intended as satire rather than a serious threat. The photographer also said he had reported himself to police.

Key People and Details

Polanski is the Green Party leader and an elected member of the Greater London Assembly. Reform UK said it would also report him to the Assembly’s monitoring officer. Farage is the Reform UK leader and the person Reform says was targeted by the T-shirt’s message.

The dispute turns on whether Polanski knowingly shared the image, whether it can legally be treated as incitement, and what responsibility public figures carry when accepting collaborative posts. The Green Party’s account is that Polanski saw only part of a 20-image post before accepting it. Reform’s position is that publication to hundreds of thousands of followers made the act serious regardless of how the post was assembled.

The timing sharpened the reaction. Reports linked the row to heightened concern about politicians’ security following the death of Reform figure Ann Widdecombe. The Green Party said the T-shirt was in poor taste in that climate and called for less division in public debate.

Reaction and Response

If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski.

Yusuf called the post an incitement to murder, while Reform Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick said the party would not be intimidated by threats and abuse. By contrast, the Green Party said Polanski condemned the image and had removed it promptly after becoming aware of it.

The photographer’s intervention adds another layer because he claimed responsibility for both taking and uploading the picture. His statement does not settle the legal question, but it may matter to investigators assessing intent, authorship and how the collaborative post reached Polanski’s account.

What to Watch

The next significant development would be any police decision to take no further action, invite someone for interview, make an arrest or refer evidence to prosecutors. The supplied reports do not say whether officers have contacted Polanski, Farage, the photographer or other account holders involved in the collaborative post.

The case may also prompt parties to tighten approval of tagged or collaborative content. A single image inside a large carousel can create legal and political consequences even when the person sharing it says they did not notice it.