No further action to be taken against Polanski over social media image – police

Jordan Reynolds and Will Meakin-Durrant, Press Association

No further action will be taken against Green Party leader Zack Polanski after he shared an image on social media depicting a man wearing a black T-shirt with a picture of a guillotine and the words “We’re only making plans for Nigel”, the Metropolitan Police said.

Reform UK said on Monday the party had reported Mr Polanski to the police, with leader Nigel Farage calling for his arrest.

Officers reviewed the reports and decided no further action will be taken in relation to the sharing of the image online, the force said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the force said: “We must not treat individuals differently solely because of their public profile, and therefore any investigation would need to have considered not just the actions of the individual named in the reports, but of all 130-plus people and organisations.

“Given it is unlikely their actions would have ultimately constituted an offence, such an extensive investigation was deemed to be disproportionate and not a reasonable use of police resources.

“Accordingly, no further action will be taken in relation to the sharing of the image online.”

But the force has determined that a crime should be recorded in relation to the wearing of the T-shirt.

Police said the event where that occurred took place in Bristol so the crime report has been transferred to Avon and Somerset Police.

A Reform UK spokesman criticised the Metropolitan Police’s decision to take no further action against Mr Polanski.

The spokesman said: “Once again we see that we are living in two-tier Britain.”

Police said their review reached the following conclusions:

– It is unlikely that the sharing of the image online would constitute a criminal offence. Officers have considered telecommunications, public order and other offences, including incitement, in reaching this conclusion.

– The image in question was the 18th in a post containing 20 images. The person named on the reports received has stated publicly, either directly or in statements issued on his behalf, that he had not seen the specific image in question when he accepted the invitation to collaborate. Steps were taken to remove the post from his account when the issue was raised.

– The post has since been shared (whether by collaboration, reposting or sharing) by around 130 accounts. The image has additionally been shared on many more occasions on other social media platforms. We must not treat individuals differently solely because of their public profile, and therefore any investigation would need to have considered not just the actions of the individual named in the reports, but of all 130-plus people and organisations. Given it is unlikely their actions would have ultimately constituted an offence, such an extensive investigation was deemed to be disproportionate and not a reasonable use of police resources.

A Met Police spokesperson said: “We absolutely understand the reaction to this image being shared online, particularly in the context of increasing threats towards politicians.

“We take the safety and security of those in public life, including politicians, very seriously.

“Where we identify threats we take appropriate action and where there is evidence of offences we will investigate.

“While there will be people who will argue that those who shared the image in this Instagram post should be subject to criminal action, our review has concluded that on this occasion, the threshold is not met.

“We have spoken with those impacted to explain that decision making and to provide reassurance around our ongoing commitment to their security and the additional support available.”

Mr Polanski faced questions about the image when he appeared on BBC Newsnight on Tuesday.

He declined to apologise, saying the post contained 20 images and he “just didn’t look carefully enough”.

Mr Polanski added: “If I’d done it deliberately, I’d be apologising.

“But because this was a mistake, I think the important thing is that I point out it’s a mistake, that I also make sure that I condemn political violence, and also crucially, I make a commitment to be better on my social media.”

Speaking on Wednesday before the Met said it was going to take no further action against Mr Polanski, Mr Farage told reporters he wanted the force “to act”.

‘Racist’

The Reform UK leader said: “If people post on social media things that are racist or inciteful, they nearly always get a knock at the door, charged, and that’s right and proper.

“If we’re going to have an even field on this, then Polanski, who is in a position of serious responsibility with a large number of followers, cannot put out on his social media the image that he did, my name, the guillotine, without some consequences.

“Now look, we all get things wrong in life, we all make mistakes in life. What we do afterwards is, we apologise.

“Given that he refuses to apologise, I expect the Metropolitan Police to act.”

A Green Party spokesperson said: “The police have examined the evidence and concluded that no crime was committed.”

The spokesperson said “this was obvious from the start” and claimed Reform UK was “always using this as a political football for their own cynical purposes to distract from questions” about how Mr Farage’s party is funded.

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