Zack Polanski has inaccurately defended his response to the Golders Green attacks by suggesting the suspect was handcuffed when he was actually armed with a knife. The Green Party leader made the comments on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on Wednesday while defending his criticism of the police officers who apprehended the alleged attacker. Mr Polanski had shared a post on social media criticising the officers after footage showed them repeatedly kicking a man who appeared to be the suspect in the head after he had been tasered.
He told Nick Robinson: "Two things can be true at the same time: officers are incredibly brave when they run towards scenes of crimes that most people, including myself, will want to run away from. At the same time, I think it is accurate, and that I was also traumatised by seeing someone handcuffed and repeatedly kicked in the head."
The video, widely circulated online, showed the man not in handcuffs, with officers appearing to shout "drop the knife" several times. Social media commentators picked up on the error, with Mark Wallace, chief executive of the Total Politics group, writing: "This isn't right. The attacker wasn't handcuffed, he was still holding a knife."
BBC presenter Robinson did not challenge Mr Polanski on the claim, instead rebuking him for failing to answer the question of why he chose to "empathise with the...
The Green Party leader wasn't challenged on the inaccurate comment during an appearance on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday. Zack Polanski has inaccurately defended his response to the Golders Green attack...