Zack Polanski ripped apart by Met Police chief over outrageous Golders Green response | Politics | News
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has been publicly criticized for sharing an “inaccurate and misinformed” social media post by Green party leader Zack Polanski about the way his officers arrested the Golders Green terror suspect. Mr. Polanski shared a social media post stating that “officers repeatedly and violently kicked a mentally ill man in the head.”
The move sparked outrage on Thursday morning, with critics claiming it “shows why the Green Party is so dangerous”. It comes as two left-wing party candidates were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after allegedly posting anti-Semitic comments online.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has hit out at the Green leader for retweeting an “inaccurate and misinformed” tweet from “armchair critics” about how police responded to carnage on the streets of North London.
In a statement at the scene earlier today, Sir Mark described the attempted double murder as “an appalling act of violence” and explained that the motive was antisemitism. He also said the suspect had a “history of serious violence and mental health issues.”
In response, one online critic, later reposted by the Greens leader, said: “So in effect their officers were repeatedly and violently kicking the head of a mentally ill man who had already been incapacitated by a Taser.”
This led to accusations that Polanski, who had previously said he wanted to be the next prime minister, was “more concerned” about the suspected terrorist’s well-being than those accused of stabbing him in the street.
In a public letter published by Scotland Yard tonight, Sir Mark said: “These police officers are nothing short of outstanding. They arrived on the scene within minutes and their actions undoubtedly prevented further injury and saved lives.”
He added: “Capturing violent and dangerous criminals is a full-contact, complex task that can appear shocking to observers with little experience of real-world policing.”
It comes as two left-wing party candidates were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after allegedly posting anti-Semitic comments online.
Lambeth council candidates Saiqa Ali and Sabine Mairey have been detained by the Met Police.
In one post, Ms. Ali shared a photo of an armed man wearing a Hamas headband with the slogan “Resistance is freedom.”
Hamas is a terrorist organization.
Ms. Mairaey posted a photo of a man holding a banner reading “attacking a synagogue is not anti-Semitism, it is revenge” over a picture of two children said to have been “killed by Israel.”
Sir Mark urged the Green Party leader not to “inflame tensions” by further amplifying the “us vs. them” narrative.
The attacker, who had a history of ‘serious violence’, jumped on an elderly man next to a bus stop and stabbed him multiple times.
He also stabbed another man in his 30s and attacked “everyone around him”, including police officers.
The victims were identified last night as Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila. Their condition was said to be stable in hospital last night.
A Green Party spokesman said: “Zack saw the video like everyone else, he doesn’t know the full picture and knows this is a very difficult situation for the authorities, but we need to know more about the response.”
