Polanski apologizes for sharing post criticising the police19 hours agoPaul SEDON,Political reporterandHarry FARLEY,Political correspondentPA MediaZack Polanski apologised on Friday for “sharing a Tweet in haste” and said that “There’s a man on the ground. He’s wearing a backpack.” I don’t think I could have imagined what those officers were thinking. But if I had been there, I would have thought he was going to detonate a bomb. “He’s going blow me up, and everyone around here,” said the prime minister. In those circumstances, you can see how they might have thought, We need to do everything we can to disable him. “Polanski responded to the PM’s criticisms on X by saying: “Today, the prime minister uses his position to attack the only Jewish leader of a party to score political points. “Polanski’s repost was also criticised by Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley who accused the Green leader amplifying “inaccurate” and “misinformed commentary” published by the force. In his statement, Polanski said he had invited Mark to “meet me to discuss the police responses and the larger issues raised in his letters”. But he added: “Police responses in emergency situations like these need to be reflected on later, but I accept social media as not the right channel for this.” The Met chief said that it was not unusual for senior police officials to criticise politicians. He also argued that it was legitimate to defend his officers when they were publicly criticized by “someone eminent”. “If anyone wants to step on my responsibilities of operating policing, then I will deal assertively with that, like I did in this instance,” he said. The Met released footage of the officers’ body-worn camera, in which they are heard repeatedly shouting for the suspect to get down “‘Inappropriate’Polanski, a member of the London Assembly, which has a role in overseeing the Met, became leader of the Green Party of England and Wales last September.He had faced criticism for his repost from Anthony Slaughter, who leads the Greens in Wales, who said it seemed “inappropriate”.Green Party deputy leader Rachel Millward also appeared to distance herself from the comments on Thursday, praising the officers as “brave”, and adding the incident would have been “beyond terrifying”.Multiple senior figures within the Greens are understood to have expressed concern about Polanski’s decision to share the post criticising officers.One source accused Polanski of an approach that fuels “culture wars”. “This is not the way to win wider support,” said they. It is important that the leadership considers the direction the party is going in and the people it is attracting. The Liberal Democrats accused Polanski a “nonapology” saying he should disown his comments “in unambiguous words”.The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Friday that it had received Polanski’s letter and would meet with him after next weeks elections. Essa Suleiman has been charged for attempting to kill Shloime Ran, 34, and Moshe Shines, 76, on Wednesday morning in Golders Green. It is also alleged that Suleiman tried to murder Ishmail Hussein earlier in the day in Hussein knew Suleiman from around 20 years ago. He also faces a charge for possessing a blade in a public area in Golders Green. He remains in custody. Zack PolanskiGreen Party of England and Wales
