Met Police chief erupts at Zack Polanski as he accuses Green leader of fueling 'rising tensions'

Ed Griffiths
Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:00:58 +0000

Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has fired back at Zack Polanski as he accused the Green Party leader of fueling "rising tensions".

Mr Polanski had reshared a highly critical social media post that read: "So essentially his officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by a taser."

Bodycam footage, released by the Metropolitan Police yesterday, showed two police officers taking down a Somali-born British national holding a knife after he allegedly stabbed two Jewish men in Golders Green.

The officers fired tasers and could be heard shouting, "Get down on the ground," and "Take the taser" as the man collapsed to the ground.

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Sir Mark hit back at the Green Leader, writing in a letter: "I was disappointed to have seen your recent post on X amplifying a post that Met officers were "repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by a taser."

"I am disappointed because it is this kind of inaccurate and misinformed commentary - with its associated casual disregard for the incredibly challenging and dangerous work police officers do to protect the public - that is contributing to the rising tensions we are seeing in society and undermines officers' confidence to act.

"It is entirely possible the author of the post you retweeted had direct experience from the scene, or has years of experience handling complex, violent situations.

"Yet I suspect the more likely scenario is that they are another armchair critic who thinks they could do the job, possibly more effectively than the brave officers who successfully detained that individual.

"Those officers are nothing short of extraordinary. They were on the scene within a few minutes and their actions undoubtedly prevented further injury and saved lives.

"As I said yesterday, the officers confronted a dangerous man, they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent, and who continued to pose a clear threat.

"They were not armed officers, and they feared he was concealing an explosive device."

He added: "Using only their training, equipment and a substantial level of bravery and courage, they detained him while he continued to try and attack and subdue them. Without their efforts to stop them, I dread to think what the outcome could have been.

"Apprehending violent and dangerous criminals is a full-contact and messy task which may appear shocking to observers with their experience of policing in the real world.

"London's Jewish communities are scared. They have experienced a series of targeted attacks on the community, and they expect our officers to act and protect them.

"That is exactly what our officers did yesterday. Your decision to criticise these officers, using your public profile and reach, will have a chilling effect.

"Officers need to know that when they act to protect Londoners decisively, they will be supported. Officers know they must be accountable for their use of force, and there are processes for this to happen."

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The Met Commissioner continued: "Your use of your public profile to call their actions into question, hours after a terrorist incident, is not the appropriate route."

"Free speech is an important facet of a democratic society. We both agree on that. But against a backdrop of global instability and heightened tensions, the right approach in this situation is to show compassion, lower tensions and not inflame them further by amplifying more 'us and them' rhetoric."

"We have significantly stepped up our activity across the capital in recent weeks, and in the hours and days following the attack in Golders Green three weeks ago, we have seen communities come together to reject hatred and violence.

"That solidarity matters, and at this moment we need politicians and community leaders to be at the forefront of it, not only condemning the holic allacks but by taking leadership in confronting antisemitism and parmissive the lone, lowering tensions and backing those who are willing to step in to protect the public and reassure the public."

Britain's terrorism threat level has been upgraded from "substantial" to "severe" after two Jewish people were stabbed in north London.

Security chiefs believe an attack is highly likely within the next six months.

The move by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (Jtac) follows Wednesday's "terrorist incident" in Golders Green in which two Jewish people were injured.

A Green Party spokesman said: "Zack has seen the video like everyone else, and doesn't know the full picture and knows it was a very difficult situation for the authorities, but we do need to understand more about the response."