British police have concluded that no further action will be taken against Green Party leader Zack Polanski after he shared a social media image featuring a guillotine and a reference to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
The Metropolitan Police determined that re-posting the photograph did not meet the threshold for a criminal offense.
The force noted that approximately 130 other social media accounts had shared the same post, making a widespread investigation disproportionate.
While dropping its case against Polanski, the Metropolitan Police referred a separate crime report concerning the individual wearing the T-shirt to Avon and Somerset Police.
That force also concluded that the threshold for a criminal offense was not met, citing the context of the image, its inclusion of satirical song lyrics, and the absence of complaints or evidence indicating an intent to threaten anyone.
Green Party Responds
A Green Party spokesperson welcomed the decision, asserting that it was clear no crime occurred and that political opponents had attempted to use the incident as a distraction.
"It was obvious from the start that no crime had been committed," the spokesperson said.
The party official added that Reform UK was using the matter for political gain.
"Reform UK was using this as a political football for their own cynical purposes as a distraction," the spokesperson said.
Prior to the police decision, Polanski explained the context of the social media post during a television appearance, clarifying that the photo was part of a larger set from an event.
"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 this was a mistake, that I also make sure that I condemn political violence, and also crucially I make a commitment to be better on social media," Polanski said.
Polanski also addressed demands from political rivals who called for a direct apology.
"You know as well as I do that as soon as I do that Nigel Farage would run all over social media saying he was correct about incitement to murder and this would all ramp up again," he said.
He emphasized his stance against political hostility while declining to apologize directly. "I think it's important that I draw a line and don't play his game...
It is important that he's kept safe, it is important we condemn political violence, but I also recognise this as the political attack that it is," Polanski said.
Reform UK Reacts
In response to the decisions by law enforcement, Reform UK officials expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome and raised concerns over public safety standards.
"Once again we see that we are living in two-tier Britain," a Reform UK spokesperson said.
The party representative criticized the lack of legal consequences for public figures.
"Zack Polanski is allowed to get away with inciting murder whilst ordinary people up and down the country get a knock at the door for making a joke online," a Reform UK spokesman said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage previously argued that political leaders must face accountability for content distributed on their official channels.
"If people post on social media things that are racist or inciteful, they nearly always get a knock at the door, charged, and that's right and proper," Farage said.
Farage noted that public figures should take responsibility for online actions.
"We all get things wrong in life, we all make mistakes in life and what we do afterwards is we apologise," he said.
Metropolitan Police officials reiterated their commitment to protecting public officials while confirming that no further action would be pursued in this case.
"We absolutely understand the reaction to this image being shared online, particularly in the context of increasing threats towards politicians," a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said.
The police statement emphasized the official reasoning for ending the review.
"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," the spokesperson said.
