The leader of the Green Party has acknowledged it was wrong to describe himself as a spokesperson for the British Red Cross, following an investigation published just days before the UK elections.
The revelation comes as voters prepare to head to the polls, with the Green Party gaining ground in surveys while support for Labour appears to be slipping.
'The Wrong Word'
An investigation by The Times found that Zack Polanski had previously claimed to be a spokesperson for the British Red Cross on a Crowdfunder page.
'In 2020, on his personal website, he mentioned working as a spokesperson for the British Red Cross charity, adding that he was "really proud of the work we do." Two years later he repeated the claim while crowdfunding £400 for his campaign for Green Party deputy leader, which he won, saying: '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,' according to an investigation from The Times.
Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Polanski said he had hosted fundraisers for the Red Cross in the past, but said he used 'the wrong word' when outlining himself as a spokesman.
The British Red Cross told The Times that Polanski 'has not been a spokesperson' and said it had raised the claim with the politician's team. '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,' the Red Cross said to the BBC.
Polanski did hit back at the media over what thought was unfair reporting.
'Well, I think it's totally fine to ask me questions about my past,' he said. 'I would also say, in the same breath though, the Times published a pretty antisemitic cartoon of me last week. 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,' he added, according to The Guardian.
Opposition Parties Call Out Polanski
Both the Labour and Conservative parties criticised Polanski over the claims.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: '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,' according to the BBC.
Kemi Badenoch also weighed in, describing Polanski as 'a man who is in over his head, who clearly thinks politics is something fun to do.'
The Green Party's Rise
Polanski argued that the Green Party's recent surge has unsettled parts of the political and media establishment.
'People who own right-wing media — multimillionaires and billionaires — are worried about the prospect that they might have to pay a little bit more tax,' he said. 'We had 50,000 members. We've now got 225,000 members. So we are rising.'
Since becoming leader in September 2025, Polanski has overseen a series of electoral gains, including a victory in the Gordon and Denton by-election in February.
The Green Party is now looking to build on that momentum in the local elections taking place tomorrow, hoping to win seats from Labour, particularly in urban areas.
