Green leader Zack Polanski faces investigation over council tax allegations

Mr Polanski has been facing mounting questions regarding his arrangements after he insisted he did not have to pay the pay the council tax on a narrowboat he owned in East London, despite it being described as his "home" in an advertisement when he decided to sell it.

It was later revealed he is staying at the five-bedroom property in Hackney, with Green Party politician Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, 40.

The Green Party leader was reported to the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) monitoring officer by the Labour and Conservative parties, reported The Times.

The monitoring officer is responsible for ensuring assembly members behave ethically.

The authority’s ethical watchdog has since confirmed they have received the complaints and are assessing whether or not to launch a formal investigation into whether or not Polanski breached standards for failing to make payments.

In email records seen by The Times, the standards officer said: “I am treating your correspondence as a formal complaint under the GLA’s standards regime.

“The monitoring officer is required to consider complaints about the conduct of elected members in accordance with the approved GLA member code of conduct complaints procedure.

“This will now be considered in accordance with the authority’s established procedures, including an initial assessment of whether an investigation is required.”

Polanski admitted he may have made an “unintentional mistake” over the tax after questions were raised about his living situation.

Waltham Forest council has already confirmed it launched an investigation into whether any council tax was owed.

A Green party spokesman said: “Zack is aware of complaints made by the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. He denies any wrongdoing and will co-operate fully with the official process to answer any queries.”

When complaints are put to the monitoring office, the official will put the claims to the person who is the subject alongside any documentation they were provided.

The assembly member then has a week or ten days to put a formal response in writing.

Then the monitoring officer speaks to two independent people, typically lawyers or senior public officials, outside of the Greater London Assembly.

The independent people consult on the details and give the monitoring officer their advice, who then ultimately makes their decision.

The officer can impose sanctions if they find the assembly member to be in breach of the ethics rules.

‘Cannot be trusted’

Anna Turley, the chair of Labour, said: “Zack Polanski repeatedly claimed his council tax was all above board. It’s right that this is probed thoroughly.

“From changing his story over his employment history and re-writing history over [an apology related to] his hypnotist past, Polanski has proven again and again how far he’s willing to mislead the public. He simply cannot be trusted."

Neil Garratt, the Conservative assembly member for Croydon and Sutton, also lodged a complaint over the reports. He said it is “wrong” that assembly members are not subject to the same laws as councillors on tax measures.

“It’s a criminal offence for councillors to vote to set other people’s council tax if they’re in arrears, but a loophole means this law doesn’t apply to assembly members.”

“That’s wrong and it should be fixed. Londoners should expect better, at the very least they should expect an apology.”

The GLA said: “The monitoring officer has received two complaints that Zack Polanski breached the Greater London Authority’s members’ Code of Conduct. Those complaints are being considered under the GLA’s usual process. It would not be appropriate to comment further while this process is ongoing.”

Mr Polanski has come under fire about his voter registration details following the local elections.

The party leader registered a bungalow in east London as his residence on the electoral roll, meaning he was eligible to vote in elections for that council area last week and in general elections.

But the Lee Valley Authority, which owns the property, has said the party leader and his partner never rented the bungalow.

The revelation means it was not his home and therefore he may have broken electoral law.

Knowingly or recklessly giving false information on an electoral registration application is a criminal offence that carries a maximum penalty of prison time.