Zack Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at the Ministry of Justice
Zack Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at a government department while campaigning for elected office, it has emerged.
Listen to this article
The revelation raises fresh questions over his honesty just days after he admitted he falsely claimed to be a spokesman for the Red Cross while running to be Green deputy leader in 2022.
Mr Polanski wrote on a campaign website in 2020 that he was “currently working at the Ministry of Justice on their training & diversity programmes.”
The MoJ said it had no record of him ever being employed there.
He was forced to admit he had been hired as an actor via a temping agency, Kreate, to help a quango appointing judges with role-play scenarios.
Read more: Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be Red Cross spokesman
Asked about the claim, a spokesman for Mr Polanski told The Telegraph that he worked for the “justice assessment committee”, which he described as “a programme to improve the diversity of justice appointments based in the MoJ”.
However no such committee exists and he later admitted that he had been hired as an actor.
He has faced a series of criticisms in recent days including questioning the actions of police who tackled a suspect accused of stabbing Jewish people in Golders Green.
He also sparked anger by questioning whether there is a “perception of unsafety or whether it’s actual unsafety” among the Jewish community, following a wave of antisemitic attacks in the UK.
Before entering politics Mr Polanski appeared in a Sun newspaper feature in which he attempted to enlarge a female reporter’s breasts using hypnotherapy.
However it later emerged that Mr Polanski was never a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy, despite claiming that status while working as a hypnotherapist.
He is also facing questions over whether he should have paid council tax on a house boat he owned.
A Green Party spokesperson said: "Zack worked inside the Ministry of Justice as an actor roleplaying on the Judicial Appointments Commission. He was based inside Clive House and Petty France both in the MoJ. This is a familiar pattern of the Telegraph - here they are scraping the barrel once again."