The Metropolitan Police has been blasted after dropping their investigation into a social media post shared by Zack Polanski that appeared to condone calls for Nigel Farage to be beheaded.
Speaking to GB News, veteran broadcaster Carole Malone argued that although the decision by the police is “not surprising”, it is also “astonishing”.
The Green Party leader was referred to the police by Mr Farage after he shared an image of a man wearing a t-shirt of a guillotine, with a message which read: “We’re only making plans for Nigel.”
Responding to the backlash about the post, Mr Polanski told the BBC that he “made a mistake” but refused to apologise.
He said: “If Nigel Farage wants to apologise for all the times that he’s put other people in danger, then I’ll be happy to make an apology.”
Reacting to the decision by the police not to investigate further, Ms Malone told GB News: “I find it astonishing, but not at all surprising. I didn’t think it was going to happen, but I think it should have happened.
“You can’t have a political leader reposting a call for the implied assassination of another political leader. It’s just not done.”
Ms Malone warned that there may now be a “proliferation” of inciteful T-shirts being worn by political activists.
Carole Malone has hit out at the police for dropping investigation into Zack Polanski
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GB NEWS / PA
She said: “The fact that no action has been taken, just watch the proliferation of t-shirts with death threats on them that we’re going to see in the future.
“And its timing – three weeks after Ann Widdecombe was brutally murdered, a Reform member – for him to be reposting that and he says he didn’t know what he was reposting, well, he should, frankly.”
Ms Malone criticised Mr Polanski for his “foolish mistakes”, arguing that they are contributing to the party “tanking in the polls”.
She said: “Polanski keeps on doing this. The Greens are tanking in the polls, currently largely down to him and his foolish mistakes. He keeps on blaming other people.
The Green leader collaborated on a post which shared a photo of a man wearing a t-shirt of a guillotine | INSTAGRAM / ZACK POLANSKI
“He said yesterday he wouldn’t apologise. He was asked seven times to apologise on Newsnight and he wouldn’t. He said if I’d done it on purpose, I would have apologised. Well, a mistake means you haven’t done it on purpose, which means you have to apologise anyway.”
Defending Mr Polanski, GB News Senior Political Commentator Nigel Nelson argued that it was “hypocritical” of Mr Farage to call for Mr Polanski’s arrest when they supported Lucy Connolly following her arrest for a social media post.
He said: “I think it was hypocritical. If you defend Lucy Connolly, they said that she was a political prisoner, how unfair it was that she was jailed for what she did. This is not the same thing, but it’s in a similar ballpark.
“So when Nigel Farage called for Zack Polanski’s arrest, that had to be hypocrisy. On the other hand, Zack Polanski admits he made a mistake. People who make mistakes, they should apologise.”
Ms Malone told GB News that it is ‘not at all surprising’ that the investigation has been dropped
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GB NEWS
A Metropolitan Police spokesman 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.”