Green Party leader Zack Polanski has apologised for sharing a social media post that criticised police officers involved in the arrest of the suspect in the Golders Green terror attack.
Polanski had reposted a message on X accusing officers of “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser” during the arrest.
In a statement issued on Friday, Polanski said he regretted “sharing a tweet in haste” and acknowledged that he should not have commented on the police response through social media.
His apology came after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the repost, describing it as “disgraceful” during an interview recorded before Polanski issued his statement.
Starmer said he had met the officers involved in the arrest and defended their actions, arguing that they were operating in an extremely dangerous and uncertain situation.
“There’s a guy on the ground, he’s got a rucksack on,” the prime minister said. “If I was there, I’d be thinking he could detonate something and endanger everyone around him. In those circumstances, you can understand why officers felt they needed to do everything possible to disable him.”
Polanski responded on X, accusing the prime minister of using his office to attack “the only Jewish party leader to score political points”.
The controversy follows criticism from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who accused Polanski of amplifying “inaccurate and misinformed commentary” in a strongly worded public letter released by the force.
Calls for Reflection
In his statement, Polanski said he had invited Sir Mark to meet with him to discuss both the police response and wider concerns raised by the incident.
“Everyone in leadership has a responsibility for lowering the temperature at a time of such tension,” he said.
“Police responses to emergency situations such as these do need later reflection in the appropriate forums, but I accept that social media is not the right place for that discussion.”
Rowley defended his decision to publicly challenge the Green leader, rejecting suggestions that he had entered the political arena.
“If someone wants to step onto my responsibilities of operational policing, I will deal with that assertively, like I did in this case,” he said.
The Metropolitan Police have released body-worn camera footage showing officers repeatedly ordering the suspect to “get down on the ground” before deploying a Taser and later shouting “drop the knife” during the arrest.
The footage followed the circulation of social media videos that appeared to show officers kicking the suspect in the head while attempting to wrest a knife from his possession.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed it had received a mandatory referral from the Metropolitan Police regarding injuries reportedly sustained by the suspect during the arrest and is assessing the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Criticism Within the Green Party
Polanski’s repost has also drawn criticism from within his own party.
Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Green Party in Wales, described the decision to share the post as “inappropriate”, while deputy leader Rachel Millward praised the officers involved, calling them “brave” and describing the incident as “beyond terrifying”.
Multiple senior Green Party figures are understood to have privately expressed concern about Polanski’s actions. One party source accused him of pursuing an approach that fuels “culture wars” rather than broadening the party’s appeal.
“It is not how you win wider support,” the source said. “The leadership needs to think carefully about the direction it is taking the party and who that is attracting.”
The Liberal Democrats also criticised Polanski’s statement, describing it as a “non-apology” and arguing that he should have explicitly disowned the comments contained in the original post.
The Metropolitan Police said it had received Polanski’s letter and would meet him after next week’s elections.
Court Proceedings
Essa Suleiman, 45, has been charged with the attempted murders of Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, following the attack in Golders Green on Wednesday.
Prosecutors also allege Suleiman attempted to murder Ishmail Hussein during a separate knife attack at Hussein’s flat in Southwark earlier the same day. Hussein is reported to have known Suleiman for around two decades.
Suleiman additionally faces a charge of possessing a knife in a public place.
Appearing in court, he confirmed his name and date of birth but entered no pleas. The case has been transferred to the Old Bailey, where he is due to appear for a preliminary hearing on 15 May.
He remains in custody.
