𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Zack Polanski has said he opposes banning the chant “globalise the intifada”.

The comments come after the Prime Minister said protesters have a responsibility to call out chants of the phrase at Gaza marches.

The leader of the Green Party told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “It’s not a phrase I would use personally and that’s because I think if there’s other phrases you can use or other ways to do things then why not just do them.

“I want people to be more effective so I wouldn’t encourage people to use it because actually I think you can make your point a lot more effectively and not get into this conversation about language.

“Words matter, but the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered, the people in Lebanon who have been killed, these people matter too, and I think if people want to protest, that it’s important we defend their right to protest.

“Yes I do discourage, to give you a more direct answer, the use of the phrase but I’m not interested in trying to police people’s language.”

On Thursday, the Prime Minister suggested he was in favour of prosecuting those who use the phrase “globalise the intifada”, which critics believe is a call to use violence against Israelis, and Jewish people more widely.

Mr Polanski also refused to defend police tactics during the arrest of Golders Green terror suspect.

Asked twice to say it was “proportionate”, he told the BBC that it is “not the right forum” to discuss it.

It came days after he apologised for sharing a post, which accused officers of violently kicking the stabbing suspect in the head after he had already been incapacitated.

Mr Polanski used a Sky News interview to hit out at Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley after he wrote an open letter criticising him for retweeting the X post about the Golders Green attack.

The Green Party leader, who has since apologised for the repost, said the police should not be above scrutiny.