Zack Polanski admits he mistakenly claimed to be a Red Cross spokesperson

Zack Polanski admitted he was mistaken when he called himself a British Red Cross spokesperson, and he said the heightened media focus on the Green party stems from anxiety over its growing appeal and its backing of wealth taxes.

Polanski had described himself as a spokesperson for the charity while seeking the party leadership, a claim the Times uncovered. The same statement appeared on his personal website in 2020, where he said he was “really proud of the work we do”.

The British Red Cross clarified that Polanski never held a spokesperson role for the organisation and that it had raised the matter with the Greens.

Polanski pushed back against what he characterised as politically motivated assaults on his party, blaming right‑wing media owners with substantial wealth for fearing the party’s rising support.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “I organised various fundraisers for the British Red Cross and often took the stage to talk about their impressive work on humanitarian crises, the climate emergency and refugee issues worldwide. I used the wrong term, I accept that, but I would essentially deliver the same messages on stage. It’s important, and I acknowledge, that the charity does not back any political party, and I have ensured that reference has been removed.”

He also accused the Times of singling him out unfairly. “It’s reasonable to question my past,” he said, “but the Times ran an antisemitic cartoon of me last week. I asked for an apology, and it seems some of these stories are just scraping the barrel, revisiting events from ten or fifteen years ago.”

Polanski argued that the Greens’ electoral surge unsettles sections of the political and media establishment. “Those who own right‑wing media, multimillionaires and billionaires … are worried they might have to pay a bit more tax,” he noted. “We grew from 50,000 members to 225,000 – we are clearly on the rise.”

He spoke on the final day of campaigning for local elections in England and parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales on Thursday, with Labour anticipating a tough night when the results emerge.

Polanski also defended the Greens against antisemitic remarks made by several candidates. Two individuals standing for Lambeth council in south London, Sabine Mairey and Saiqa Ali, were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred online.

“I am responsible,” he declared. “Those comments are wholly unacceptable and must be condemned.” He added that the party will implement a standard vetting procedure and mandatory antisemitism training for all contenders. “This will make it clear that antisemitism has no place in the Green party, just as it has none in society,” he said. Describing the Greens as an anti‑racist organisation, he stressed: “It is also vital to say that one instance of antisemitism is one too many. This is a handful of cases and actually”.