Zack Polanski has apologised for sharing a social media post critical of police after the Golders Green stabbings, following a letter from the head of the Metropolitan police who said the Green party leader risked undermining public confidence in his officers.
Polanski, who leads the Greens in England and Wales, expressed regret for having shared someone else’s post “in haste”. The incident occurred after police were filmed detaining a suspect following the stabbing of two Jewish people in the north-west London suburb on Wednesday.
Polanski retweeted, without comment, a post on X alleging that officers were “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head” while he was already incapacitated by a stun gun. In a statement released on Friday afternoon, 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.”
He added: “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 [Metropolitan police commissioner] Mark Rowley to meet with me to discuss the police response and the wider issues raised in his letter.”
In a letter to Polanski, Rowley described the claim as “inaccurate and misinformed commentary”. He praised the officers involved as “nothing short of extraordinary”, adding: “Without their efforts to stop him, I dread to think what the outcome could have been.”
More details are expected to follow as the situation develops.
