Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be a spokesperson for the British Red Cross while campaigning for the Green party leadership, the charity has said.<\/p>\n
The claim was also mentioned on his personal website in 2020, where he said he was \u201creally proud of the work we do\u201d.<\/p>\n
The British Red Cross told the Times that Polanski \u201chas not been a spokesperson\u201d for the charity, and said it had raised the issue with the Greens.<\/p>\n
Polanski posted several examples on X of him hosting fundraisers for the organisation. \u201cI\u2019ve always admired the work of the British Red Cross. From their work to support refugees to their work supporting people in Gaza and conflict zones around the world,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
A Green party<\/a> spokesperson did not address the claims directly, but said the Times should apologise for what they described as an antisemitic cartoon of Polanski in the newspaper over the weekend, with an exaggerated large nose.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of apologising, the same paper that published an incredibly offensive antisemitic cartoon of Zack Polanski is devoting column inches to bottom of the barrel stories,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n The Times story also alleged Polanski was not a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy, despite claiming to be one.<\/p>\n Polanski\u2019s time as a hypnotherapist has been under the spotlight after he was featured in a 2013 Sun article, before he entered politics, offering hypnosis intended to increase a woman\u2019s breast size.<\/p>\n He has repeatedly apologised for the episode, but said it was not a service he routinely offered, and he had only agreed to what the Sun journalist had asked for.<\/p>\n The BBC later uncovered an interview that Polanski did six days after the Sun piece, where he talks about \u201ca successful project\u201d with the journalist in changing the size of her breasts, indicating that he had tried the technique with other people.<\/p>\n The Green party is hoping to make significant gains on Thursday, especially in London with disillusioned Labour voters who have been drawn to Polanski\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n But the campaign has seen the party drawn into several controversies, including antisemitic comments made by several candidates. Two Green candidates for Lambeth council in south London, Sabine Mairey and Saiqa Ali, were arrested<\/a> on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred online.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, former Green leader Caroline Lucas urged the party to take immediate action<\/a> against candidates who have made antisemitic comments or posts.<\/p>\n