Zack Polanski has taken to the campaign trail ahead of the local elections, shoulder to shoulder with the Welsh Greens leader who criticised him over his retweet about the Golders Green terror attack.
Leader of the Green Party Mr Polanski, 43, faced widespread backlash after sharing a post which suggested the police who responded to the attack were too heavy handed.
Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, named locally as Moshe Shine, 76, were attacked by a knifeman on Wednesday morning and rushed to hospital. Fortunately their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
It came just a few hours after the suspect allegedly attacked his friend of 20 years, Ishmail Hussein, with a knife after arriving at his home earlier on Wednesday. Mr Hussein sustained minor injuries in the incident.
Criticism of Mr Polanski’s intervention came from members of his own party, most notably the Greens’ leader in Wales, Anthony Slaughter.
Asked about the row on LBC this week, Mr Slaughter said: ‘I was made aware of this on the way here, just shortly beforehand. I haven’t seen the tweet.
‘I understand, as you say, Zack retweeted a tweet that it does seem, from what I’ve read, was inappropriate to retweet.
‘I know that Zack and his other colleagues in the London Assembly do work closely with the Met Police, so there will be discussions afterwards to see what went wrong and how this can be better handled in future’.
Zack Polanski and Anthony Slaughter (both centre, side by side) were on the campaign trail in Cardiff today
Mr Polanski gave a speech to supporters in the Church of Saint John The Evangelist in the city
Despite the war of words, Mr Slaughter and Mr Polanski were out campaigning together in Cardiff, Wales today, with the party leader giving a speech at the Church of Saint John The Evangelist.
Mr Polanski, who is Jewish, was criticised after he reposted an online critic who said: ‘So essentially his [Sir Mark Rowley’s] officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser’.
It has led to accusations that the politician, who has previously said he would like to be the next prime minister, was ‘more concerned’ about the suspected terrorist’s wellbeing than those he is accused of stabbing in the street.
Speaking on Saturday, Mr Slaughter said of Mr Polanski: ‘I think he’s cleared things up and he’s apologised, he’s offered to meet the Met commissioner.
‘I was on the spot (during the LBC debate) because I’d only just heard about it as I walked in, so that was my own personal feelings on it.
‘I can’t speak for Zack but, as far as we’re concerned, it’s all been cleared up now.
‘It’s a fast-moving, horrible situation – social media moves fast.’
Mr Slaughter added: ‘Zack is the leader for the moment.
‘The party was very strong already, don’t get me wrong, people going beforehand built the strong foundation.
‘But he is so passionate, so committed, and really, he’s really stood by Wales over the years. So, he’s always welcome here.’
Video footage showed how two officers bravely confronted the alleged Golders Green terrorist and Tasered him. They then approached the man on the ground and repeatedly yelled at him to ‘drop the knife’ while kicking him several times in the head.
Met Police Chief Sir Mark Rowley vehemently defended his officers as he hit out at Mr Polanski, saying they had been dealing with an armed suspect who they feared could have explosives in his backpack.
Sir Mark described the claims in the Gren leader’s tweet as ‘inaccurate and misinformed commentary’, adding that ‘without their efforts to stop him, I dread to think what the outcome could have been.’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also condemned the Greens leader, telling BBC Radio 4: ‘I don’t know what was going through the mind of those officers, but if I was there, I’d be thinking: He’s going to detonate something. He’s going to blow me up and everybody around here.
‘And in those circumstances, I think you can quite see why what could have gone through their mind is: We need to do whatever we can to disable this guy.’
Zack Polanski has retweeted a post suggesting hero policemen who disarmed the Golders Green terrorist were heavy handed
Bodycam footage of the horrifying incident in Golders Green shows the alleged terrorist walk towards officers while armed with a knife
The footage showed two officers from the Met Police confront the alleged terrorist, Taser him and then kick him while shouting at him to ‘drop the knife’
A Green party candidate is pictured at a rally in support of Palestine in Lewisham on Saturday
Sir Keir added: ‘You have to make a decision in that split moment according to the situation as you understand it to be. And for politicians to wade in, as Zack Polanski did, is disgraceful. He’s not fit to lead any political party.’
Mr Polanski did apologise for sharing the tweet ‘in haste’, but suggested that ‘reflection’ on the police response was required.
He said on Friday: ‘Everyone in leadership has a responsibility for lowering the temperature at a time of such tension, and I apologise for sharing a tweet in haste.
‘Police responses to emergency situations such as these do need later reflection in the right forums, but I accept that social media is not the appropriate channel for doing so.
‘I have invited Mark Rowley to meet with me to discuss the police response and the wider issues raised in his letter.’
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Sir Mark has reportedly agreed to meet with Mr Polanski after next week’s local elections.
The Welsh Senedd has been controlled by the Labour Party, which has been the largest party at every election since its creation, but this year’s local elections look set to transform the political landscape in Wales.
Polling suggests that Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are expected to perform best when voters go to the polls on Thursday, and are neck and neck as they are set to hoover up votes from dissatisfied Labour supporters. But the Greens have also seen a surge in support.
The latest MRP poll for YouGov, published on April 22, suggested Reform were – at that stage – projected to take 37 Senedd seats, with Plaid on 36, Labour on 12, the Greens on seven.
The Conservatives were looking at three seats, while one would go to the Liberal Democrats.
Away from the campaign trail in Wales, Green candidates were continuing their campaigning across the country.
In Lewisham, London, at least one Green candidate was spotted at a rally in support of Palestine on Saturday.
