Zack Polanski admits false declare about British Red Cross charity function
Green Party leader Zack Polanski faced calls to ‘come clean with the public’ after it emerged he never held an official role for the British Red Cross charity despite claiming he did
The Green Party leader made the claim as he campaigned to become its deputy leader back in 2022(Image: PA)
Zack Polanski has admitted he used the “wrong word” after claiming he used to be a spokesman for the British Red Cross.
The Green Party leader faced calls to “come clean with the public” after it emerged he never held an official role for the charity. He made the claim when he campaigned to become the Greens’ deputy leader back in 2022.
Challenged on the revelations, Mr Polanski said he hosted fundraisers for the humanitarian charity but admitted he accepts he didn’t hold the official title.
Asked if it was true he was never a spokesman, he told BBC Radio 4: “I hosted various fundraisers for the British Red Cross and indeed I would go on stage and speak for them about the amazing work they do tackling humanitarian crises, on the climate crisis and indeed for refugees all around the world.
“I used the wrong word and I accept that but I would essentially take words on stage with me and speak. It’s important, though, and I accept this, that they don’t support any political party, and I’ve made sure that’s been taken down.”
The London assembly member, who is Jewish, also criticised the Times – which published the revelations – and accused the newspaper of last week publishing “a pretty anti-Semitic cartoon” of him. He continued: “I asked them to apologise, and it feels some of these stories feel like scraping the barrel to kind of go back 10, 15 years.”
In posts on the website Crowdfunder in 2022, Mr Polanski said: “As a spokesperson for the British Red Cross – I care deeply about ending racialised policing and have been calling for an end to the phoney war on drugs. Black Lives Matter.” The posts have been archived by the Wayback Machine.
In 2020, on his personal website, he also referenced working as a spokesperson for the British Red Cross charity, saying that he was “really proud of the work we do”, according to The Times.
The claim prompted criticism from Labour, ahead of the local elections on Thursday where the Greens are expected to make major gains across the country. Labour and the Greens are battling it out in London, where Mr Polanski is threatening to pick up councils held by Labour for decades.
Last night, a Labour Party spokesman hit out at the latest revelations – as well as referencing a Sun story from 2013 which claimed Mr Polanski thought hypnotherapy could be used to enlarge a female’s breasts. He has insisted it was the journalist’s idea and he has repeatedly apologised for it.
Labour said: “After previously fibbing about his weird hypnotic past, Zack Polanski has been caught in the act again. It’s not the first time the Green Party leader hasn’t been straight with the public.
“He refuses to say if his council candidates have been suspended for vile antisemitism after claiming to have acted. Now there are serious questions about the work and qualifications he has boasted about. “This is a matter of trust. Voters will rightly wonder whether Lib Dem-turned-Green Polanski believes anything at all, or whether it’s just all for a cheap headline. Polanski should come clean with the public.” A British Red Cross spokesperson said: “We support people in crisis every day, no matter who or where they are. That is only possible due to the large number of people who raise funds for us and volunteer for us. “We are a neutral and impartial humanitarian organisation and to protect our vital work, we do not take part in party-political activity or campaigns.”
