Reform UK files police complaint over guillotine T-shirt post linked to Zack Polanski
Zack Polanski has apologised after accidentally sharing an image of an offensive shirt (Getty Images | X/Nigel_Farage)
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has been reported to police by Reform UK after an Instagram post that included an image of a man wearing a T-shirt featuring an illustration of a guillotine alongside the slogan, “We’re only making plans for Nigel” appeared on his profile.
The image appeared among several photos in a collaborative Instagram post from a Green Party event, but Polanski removed it after it was brought to his attention. The words on the T-shirt could refer to a 1979 XTC song of the same name, as reported by the BBC.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused Polanski of sharing inflammatory content, writing on X on 27 July that if he had posted something similarly “inciteful”, he would expect to be arrested. Reform’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf went further, describing the image to the BBC as “a photo of a man calling for the beheading of Nigel Farage”, alleging it amounted to “incitement to murder”.
Yusuf confirmed the party had reported the matter to the Metropolitan Police and also intended to file a complaint with the Greater London Assembly’s monitoring officer, where Polanski serves as an elected member.
The Green Party said Polanski had accepted the collaboration request without realising one of the 20 images contained the controversial T-shirt.
“Once this image was brought to his attention he immediately unshared the post,” a spokesperson told the BBC. “He unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message.” The party added that Polanski condemns the image and described it as being in poor taste, particularly given heightened concerns about the safety of elected officials.
Polanski has previously spoken publicly about receiving threats himself and has called for increased security for politicians following the 9 July killing of Reform member Ann Widdecombe.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed it had received a third-party complaint and said officers are making inquiries. The BBC reported that police have not contacted Polanski.
Meanwhile, the freelance photographer who originally posted the image publicly accepted responsibility in a series of posts on X, apologised to Polanski and said the T-shirt was intended as satire rather than a genuine threat. The photographer added that they had reported themselves to police, saying the image “wasn’t intended to offend anyone” and criticising what they described as “performative outrage”.
