Jeremy Clarkson lashes out at politician over controversial move
Jeremy Clarkson has hit out at Green Party leader Zack Polanski following his public criticism of the police officers who responded to last week’s Golders Green terror attack.
In the days since the incident, Mr Polanski has maintained that police officers should face appropriate scrutiny, despite apologising for sharing a social media post criticising the arrest of the suspect.
The Green Party leader has acknowledged the courage of officers who confront dangerous situations but insisted accountability remains essential.
“I think you can both recognise the bravery of officers who run towards incidents that most of us, including myself, would certainly want to run away from, and find the appropriate forum to say that no one, especially the police, should be above scrutiny,” he told Sky News.
Mr Polanski also criticised Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley for sending him an open letter about the controversy, describing it as an inappropriate way to conduct political discourse during local elections.
Mr Rowley had penned an open letter criticising Mr Polanski for his social media antics while simultaneously defending the Met Police officers who arrested the terror attack suspect.
Following Mr Polanski’s reaction to the Golders Green attacks, Mr Clarkson used his latest newspaper column to express his bewilderment with the Greens’ leader’s response.
“He isn’t. My donkey is more likely to get elected.”
Turning his attention to Mr Polanski’s physical attributes, Mr Clarkson mocked: “The man isn’t even built properly – a point that becomes clear if you watch that social media gif of him running through a conference hall. Tom Cruise he is not.
“It’s like his arms are where his legs should be and vice versa and as a result, he has the stupidest running style I’ve ever seen.”
The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire host then struck a more serious note as he veered his critique towards Mr Polanski’s public statements.
“And then there’s what he says. This week, he castigated those policemen who tackled the knife-wielding thug in London, saying he’d seen them ‘repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head’,” he said.
Mr Clarkson went on: “Yup. He’s so right-on and so down with the ’Gram as he pursues the teenage vote that he’s going to side with a violent antisemitic thug rather than the policemanists who arrested him.
“And he thinks that normal people with fully formed adult brains will vote for him. Not a chance,” he signed off in The Sun.
This isn’t the first time Mr Clarkson has publicly criticised the Green Party leader over his policy proposals and public statements.
In March, Mr Clarkson ripped into the Greens’ tax pledges, accusing them of asking the public to pay taxes to give money to the “fat and lazy”.
He also condemned Mr Polanski over the Greens’ plans to legalise drugs should the party get into power.
Meanwhile, the victims of the Golders Green attack have been released from the hospital following their serious injuries.
Essa Suleiman, 45, faces charges of attempting to murder Shloime Rand, 34, and Norman Shine, 76, during the knife attack in the north London suburb.
He is also accused of the attempted murder of a third man, allegedly known to him, in south London earlier that day.
Mr Suleiman appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday and was remanded in custody.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded a moratorium on pro-Palestinian marches, arguing they are “creating a climate that is normalising a hatred towards Jews”.
The Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced in December they would adapt their approach to the “globalise the intifada” slogan following an attack on a Jewish festival at Australia’s Bondi Beach.