Met Police will NOT take action over photo Zack Polanski shared of T-shirt ‘showing Nigel Farage’s execution’
The Met Police will not take action after Zack Polanski shared a photo of a T-shirt depicting Nigel Farage’s execution.
The Green Party leader sparked outrage on Instagram on Monday when he posted a photo of a man wearing a black T-shirt with the message “We’re just planning for Nigel” and an image of a guillotine.
Mr Farage was seen calling for the arrest of his political rival, while Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf accused the Green leader of ‘inciting murder’. The party confirmed that it had reported Mr Polanski to the police.
A Met spokesman said at the time that police were ‘conducting investigations’ and ‘take such reports extremely seriously’.
The Met Police said it had completed its investigation on Wednesday night.
In his defense, Polanski insisted he ‘did nothing wrong’ and made an ‘inadvertent mistake’, but told his 713,000 followers he would not apologize for the post.
Mr Polanski told BBC Newsnight on Tuesday that he had not been contacted by police, adding that he “did not pay enough attention to the T-shirt” and was “horrified” by the “dangerous message” inside it.
The Green Party leader said on the program on Tuesday night: ‘This was not my post, it was a collaboration of a photographer.
Nigel Farage calls for Zack Polanski’s arrest after Green Party leader shares photo of man wearing T-shirt ‘planning to behead him’
Zack Polanski insisted he ‘did nothing wrong’ after the Green Party leader shared a photo of a man wearing a T-shirt allegedly ‘inciting murder’
‘There were 20 pictures and I didn’t look hard enough and accepted it.
‘As soon as I became aware of the incident, I refused and removed it.
‘I think it would be strange for the police to talk to me about this because I think it’s pretty clear that I’ve done nothing wrong other than making an unintentional mistake.
‘However, if the police wish to speak to me I would of course be more than happy to co-operate.’
A Met Police spokesman said no further action would be taken after ‘a review of a number of outcomes’.
Police said: ‘Sharing the image online is unlikely to constitute a criminal offence. Officers took into account other offenses including telecommunications, public order and sedition in reaching this conclusion.
‘The image in question was the 18th image in a post containing 20 images. According to the reports received, the person in question publicly stated, directly or in statements made on his own behalf, that he had not seen the specific image in question while accepting the invitation to cooperate. When the issue was raised, steps were taken to have the post removed from his account.
‘The post has since been shared (collaborating, reposting or sharing) by approximately 130 accounts. The image was also shared multiple times on other social media platforms. We should not treat individuals differently simply because of their public profile, and so any investigation must take into account the actions of more than 130 individuals and organizations, not just the individual named in the reports. ‘Given that his actions were unlikely to ultimately amount to a criminal offence, it was deemed that such an extensive investigation was disproportionate and not a reasonable use of police resources.’
The Met said it had decided that ‘an offense should be registered in relation to the wearing of the t-shirt’.
It was stated that since the incident in which the shirt was taken took place in Bristol, the case was transferred to Avon and Somerset Police.[laceinBristolthecasehadbeentransferredtotheAvonandSomersetPolice[laceinBristolthecasehadbeentransferredtothe AvonandSomersetPolice
Police added: ‘We certainly understand the reaction to this image being shared online, particularly in the context of increasing threats against politicians.
‘We take the safety and security of those in public life, including politicians, very seriously. When we detect threats, we take appropriate action and investigate where evidence of crime is found.
‘There will be those who argue that those who shared the image in this Instagram post should be criminally prosecuted, but our review concluded that the threshold was not met in this case. ‘We have spoken to those affected to explain the decision-making process and provide reassurance about our ongoing commitment to their safety and the additional support available.’
– This is breaking news, more will follow.
