𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Police will take no further action in relation to an Instagram post shared by Green Party leader Zack Polanski, which showed a photo of a man wearing a t-shirt with an image of a guillotine and the slogan “we’re only making plans for Nigel”.

Metropolitan Police received a third-party report relating to an image shared on Instagram on Monday, 27 July. Other reports about the same image, which showed a man wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a guillotine and accompanying text, have since been received.

The force’s review concluded that it is unlikely that the sharing of the image online would constitute a criminal offence. Police also said “the person named on the reports received has stated publicly, either directly or in statements issued on his behalf, that he had not seen the specific image in question when he accepted the invitation to collaborate”.

It is understood the post has since been shared (whether by collaboration, reposting or sharing) by around 130 accounts. The Metropolitan Police said: “We must not treat individuals differently solely because of their public profile, and therefore any investigation would need to have considered not just the actions of the individual named in the reports, but of all 130+ people and organisations.

“Given it is unlikely their actions would have ultimately constituted an offence, such an extensive investigation was deemed to do be disproportionate and not a reasonable use of police resources.” The force said “no further action will be taken in relation to the sharing of the image online,” but also added that they have “however, determined that a crime should be recorded in relation to the wearing of the t-shirt”.

“The event where that occurred took place in Bristol and as a result, we have transferred the crime report to Avon and Somerset Police. They will consider what further action should now follow,” the force also said.

A Met Police spokesperson said: “We absolutely understand the reaction to this image being shared online, particularly in the context of increasing threats towards politicians.

“We take the safety and security of those in public life, including politicians, very seriously. Where we identify threats we take appropriate action and where there is evidence of offences we will investigate.

“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. We have spoken with those impacted to explain that decision making and to provide reassurance around our ongoing commitment to their security and the additional support available.”

The Green Party leader said he made an “inadvertent mistake” over a social media image but will not apologise to Nigel Farage.

The image in question was the 18^th in a post containing 20 images. A spokesman for Mr Polanski previously said: “After attending a public event, Zack accepted a request to collaborate on a post with several images. Once this image was brought to his attention, he immediately unshared the post. He unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message.”