Zack Polanski has issued an apology after sharing a social media post that criticised the police response to the Golders Green terror attack.
Two victims, Shilome Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, were seriously injured during the incident in north-west London on Wednesday. Authorities have classified the attack as terrorism.
The Green Party figure reposted a message on X the following day, which alleged that officers had been “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser”.
The post drew strong criticism, including from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who described Polanski’s remarks as “inaccurate and misinformed”.
Polanski Issues Apology Following Social Media Controversy
In a statement released on Friday, Polanski acknowledged his actions and apologised for reacting too quickly online. He said: “Everyone in leadership has a responsibility for lowering the temperature at a time of such tension, and I apologise for sharing a tweet in haste.
“Police responses to emergency situations such as these do need later reflection in the right forums, but I accept that social media is not the appropriate channel for doing so.
“I have invited Mark Rowley to meet with me to discuss the police response and the wider issues raised in his letter.”
Keir Starmer And Political Figures Respond To Remarks
Prime Minister Keir Starmer also criticised Polanski’s comments during an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, calling them “disgraceful” while expressing support for the officers involved.
Reflecting on the situation faced by police at the scene, Starmer said: “I won’t put words into their mouth, but I want everybody just to imagine what it might be like.
“You’re trying to arrest someone who has already attacked two people and has no regard for life. We know that tasers were fired. I know from my own experience with the police, that there are only two shots in a taser, and once you’ve shot them, there’s nothing left.
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“There’s a guy on the ground, he’s got a rucksack on. And I don’t know what was going through the mind of those officers, but if I was there, I’d be thinking, he’s going to detonate something. He’s going to blow me up and everybody around here.
“In those circumstances, I think you can quite see why what could have gone through their mind is, we need to do whatever we can to disable this guy.”
He added: “Now, when I then see Zack Polanski come out and retweet or support a criticism of that, I think it’s disgraceful… He’s not fit to lead any political party.”
Internal Party Reaction And Calls For Review
Polanski’s repost also prompted criticism within his own party. Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Green Party in Wales, addressed the issue in an interview with LBC prior to the apology.
He said: “I was made aware of this on the way here, just shortly beforehand. I haven’t seen the tweet. I understand, as you say, Zack retweeted a tweet that it does seem, from what I’ve read, was inappropriate to retweet.
“I know that Zack and his other colleagues in the London Assembly do work closely with the Met Police, so there will be discussions afterwards to see what went wrong and how this can be better handled in future”.
The Prime Minister’s full interview is scheduled to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds from Saturday morning.
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