Zack Polanski is no stranger to reinventing himself. He’s been an actor, a hypnotherapist capable of enlarging breasts, a nightclub promoter, a mental health councillor and even… a Lib Dem. Now the Times has uncovered another entry on the already well-stuffed Polanski CV. According to the Green leader, he once served dutifully as a spokesman for the British Red Cross. Only the Times also discovered that this was a complete fiction, the left-wing leader never actually held the role.
Polanski made the claim on his site while running for Green deputy leader in 2022. But the British Red Cross last night confirmed Polanski ‘has not been a spokesperson’. Rather, he had been an on-stage host ‘for several fundraisers’. Steerpike wonders how the Greens would react if a guest at an event started claiming to speak for the party in an official capacity. Talk about performance theatre…
Responding to the revelations, the Green leader this morning showed contrition and admitted his fault. Only joking: he predictably lambasted the evil right-wing press for daring to point out the discrepancy. Appearing on the Today programme, he told Radio 4 that ‘Some of these stories feel like scraping the barrel going back 10 or 15 years’. Or, er, claims that he made just four years ago?Polanski went on to suggest the media is terrified of his wealth taxes and is therefore rolling out the hit pieces.
It’s not as if politicians from other parties lying on their CVs have ever been exposed before – or that Polanski himself doesn’t have form when it comes to making exaggerated claims…
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