Reform UK has reported Green Party leader Zack Polanski to the police and accused him of “inciting murder” after a picture was shared on social media.
The image, which was subsequently unshared from Mr Polanski’s Instagram account, featured a man wearing a black T-shirt with the message “We’re only making plans for Nigel” and an image of a guillotine.
Sharing a screenshot of the image, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote on social media: “This is what Zack Polanski has just posted on his Instagram.
“If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski.”
‘Making Plans For Nigel’ is a song by English rock band XTC, released as the lead single from their 1979 album Drums And Wires.
A post on a website appearing to sell the T-shirt for £20 stated: “Who could Nigel be? And why the guillotine?
“Whether it’s a nod to old punk music or a sharper bit of political satire, this design is for those who prefer their statements with a side of mystery.”
The Green Party said Mr Polanski “condemns the image on the T-shirt” and clicked accept to be tagged in a post with 20 images “without realising there was more to it than he had seen”.
But Reform’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf claimed the Green Party leader was “inciting murder”, adding that sharing the image weeks after the death of Ann Widdecombe was “staggering”.
Prosecutors told a court last week that a man allegedly hit the Reform UK spokesperson and former Tory minister 21 times over the head with a hammer in a “planned and targeted” attack.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Earlier today – Monday, 27 July – we received a third-party report relating to an image shared on social media.
“We take reports of this nature extremely seriously, and officers are conducting inquiries into the matter.”
Reform UK’s spokesperson for home affairs Mr Yusuf wrote on social media: “Zack Polanski has posted to his 713k Instagram followers a photo of a man in a T-shirt calling for the beheading of Nigel Farage.
“Polanski is inciting murder. It must be treated as such by the police.”
A Green Party spokesperson said: “Zack condemns the image on the T-shirt. He was tagged in a post with 20 images and clicked accept without realising there was more to it than he had seen.
“The T-shirt is clearly in poor taste, especially at a time of heightened fears for the security of public figures having experienced multiple threats himself.
“He and the Green Party call on everyone involved in public discourse to show kindness and not encourage more division.”
Prime minister Andy Burnham has said a “serious review” into MPs’ security is needed following the death of Ms Widdecombe, saying politics has “darkened” in the near decade since he was last in Westminster and protections may need to be “increased further.”
Mr Burnham, who previously served as MP for Leigh until 2017, said: “It’s obviously appalling what happened to Ann. I knew Ann over many years in the House, and you know, we would get along – and everybody would get along.
“But it feels as though something has changed. It’s easy to blame social media, but it feels like it’s having some impact in just building that kind of toxicity that’s around the political debate.”
He said the issue could not be solved by “easy, glib answers,” adding: “I do think we need now a serious review of MPs’ security.
“I certainly am prepared to do that.”
