A photo of a man in a T-shirt bearing a guillotine and the words “We’re only making plans for Nigel” has triggered a police investigation, a party political row, and a debate about the line between satire and incitement. Green Party leader Zack Polanski shared the image on Instagram with his 713,000 followers—and within hours, Reform UK had reported him to the Metropolitan Police, accusing him of incitement to murder.
On 27 July 2026, Polanski shared a carousel of photos from a Green Party event. One of the images showed a man wearing a black T-shirt with a large guillotine and the lyric “We’re only making plans for Nigel”—a reference to a 1979 song by the band XTC. The post was a collaboration with another account; the photographer who took the picture, who goes by the username just.barold, later said it was a satirical T-shirt and apologised to Polanski, adding that he had reported himself to the police.
“A guillotine T-shirt post shared by Green Party leader Zack Polanski sparks police probe and free speech debate.”
The Green Party said Polanski “immediately unshared the post” once the image was brought to his attention, and that he “unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message”. A party spokesperson described the T-shirt as “clearly in poor taste, especially at a time of heightened fears for the security of public figures”. The Met Police confirmed they had received a third-party report and were “conducting enquiries”. As of the latest reports, Polanski had not been contacted by police.
This controversy did not happen in a vacuum. Just two weeks earlier, Ann Widdecombe—a former Conservative minister who had become Reform UK’s justice spokesperson—was found dead at her home in Devon. A 28-year-old man has been charged with her murder. Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf made the link explicit, saying: “To do this just 2 weeks after our friend Ann was murdered is staggering. This is incitement to murder.” Reform leader Nigel Farage posted a screenshot of the image on X, writing: “If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski.”
For UK readers, this story raises uncomfortable questions about how political speech is policed online. The T-shirt did not name Farage directly—the “Nigel” could refer to the song’s protagonist—but the guillotine image, combined with the recent murder of a Reform figure, gave the post a charge it might otherwise have lacked. The incident also highlights the risks that public figures face when they share user-generated content without fully vetting it. Polanski, the Green Party pointed out, has himself experienced multiple threats.
The case touches on a long-running debate about what counts as incitement in a digital age. The photographer defended the image as “satirical” and “not intended as a serious threat”, arguing that “the call for political violence is not something that is being normalised by left wing political figures”. But Reform UK’s complaint and the police investigation suggest that in the current climate, any image linking a political leader with an instrument of execution is likely to be taken extremely seriously.
Q: What exactly did Zack Polanski post? He shared an Instagram carousel of photos from a Green Party event; one image showed a man wearing a T-shirt with a guillotine and the words “We’re only making plans for Nigel”—a lyric from a 1979 XTC song. The post was deleted as soon as the image was flagged.
Q: Why was it reported to the police? Reform UK reported Polanski for incitement to murder, arguing the image threatened Nigel Farage. The party linked the post to the recent murder of Reform UK figure Ann Widdecombe, saying it was “staggering” to see such an image so soon after her death.
Q: What is the legal test for incitement in the UK? Incitement to murder is a criminal offence under the Offences against the Person Act 1861. It requires proving that a person encouraged or persuaded another to commit murder. Whether sharing a satirical image meets that threshold is for the police and Crown Prosecution Service to decide—no charges have been brought at this stage.
The Met Police are conducting enquiries. Polanski has not been contacted by police, but Reform UK says he has not privately apologised to Farage. The photographer who took the image has reported himself to the police and publicly stated the T-shirt was satirical. The outcome of the investigation will likely set a precedent for how social media posts that reference political violence are treated in an era of heightened security fears for MPs and public figures.