The Green party leader, Zack Polanski, has said he made an “inadvertent mistake” over a social media image but will not apologise to Nigel Farage.
The image, which Polanski said he “shared inadvertently” on Instagram and then removed, featured a man wearing a black T-shirt with the message “We’re only making plans for Nigel” and an image of a guillotine.
Reform UK said the party had reported Polanski to the police, with the home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, accusing the Green leader of “inciting murder” and Nigel Farage calling for his arrest.
A Metropolitan police spokesperson said the force was “conducting inquiries” and took “reports of this nature extremely seriously”.
Polanski told BBC Newsnight on Tuesday evening that the police had not been in contact with him, adding that he “didn’t pay enough attention to the T-shirt” and was “horrified” by its “dangerous message”.
He said: “This was not my post, it was a collaboration from a photographer. It had ۲۰ images and I just didn’t look carefully enough and I accepted it. As soon as I was aware of what happened, I unaccepted it and took it down.
“I think it would be odd for the police to speak to me about that because I think it’s quite obvious that I’ve not done anything wrong other than making an inadvertent mistake. That being said, if the police do want to talk to me, of course I’m very happy to cooperate.”
Polanski said he would not be apologising to Farage, adding: “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.”
He added: “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.”
A Reform UK source told BBC Newsnight: “It’s truly astonishing and quite frankly sickening that Zack Polanski won’t apologise for inciting murder. He admits it was wrong. He admits it’s dangerous, but he still refuses to apologise.
“Mr Polanski is not fit to lead a national political party.”
Asked about the row on Tuesday, the work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, said there was “a duty on all politicians to be careful about what they post”, especially in light of the death of the former MP Ann Widdecombe earlier this month.
McFadden told Sky News that people could “make mistakes” and it was for the police to decide if any action was needed.
He added: “It’s not the first time Zack Polanski has done something like this.”
Polanski has previously been criticised over his use of social media. In May, he apologised for sharing a post criticising the police response to the Golders Green stabbings, saying he had done so “in haste”.
