What have Zack Polanski's previous jobs been?
Where has Zack Polanski worked before becoming leader of the Green Party after accusations that he exaggerated MoJ and Red Cross roles
Zack Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at the Ministry of Justice, according to a report in the Telegraph, which came days after the Times reported the Green Party leader had 'exaggerated' his role in the Red Cross.
Listen to this article
It was claimed that Mr Polanski wrote on a campaign website in 2020 that he was “currently working at the Ministry of Justice on their training and diversity programmes," despite there being no record of him working there.
Last week, The Times reported that the Green leader had described himself as having been a "spokesperson" for the British Red Cross, although he has now said he "used the wrong word".
It has also been alleged that Mr Polanski was never a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy, despite claiming that status while working as a hypnotherapist in the early 2010s.
The Greens won many seats in last week's local elections, with Mr Polanski at the helm, and the party appears to have faith in him.
The party told LBC: "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."
In response to the Telegraph, it added: "This is a familiar pattern of the Telegraph - here they are scraping the barrel once again."
Zack Polanski's full CV
Acting degree and roles in films: 2003-2013
Born David Paulden in 1982, Zack Polanski - who took his current name when he was 18 - studied sociology and drama at Aberystwyth University from 2003 to 2006 and then continued his studies in Atlanta.
But his acting career was limited to roles such as that of a crack-smoking prisoner and a struggling artist in low-budget films, according to his IMDb profile. He also appeared in the 2014 X Factor final as part of a choir.
In theatre, he was part of a group called DifferencENGINE that performed on stage, and he was also once part of a group that taught acting to prisoners.
"He has worked as an actor, youth worker, and in the hospitality sector," his City Hall profile states.
The Green Party website said: "Before entering politics, Zack worked in community theatre, specialising in Theatre of the Oppressed with marginalised communities to help them tell their own stories. He also spent many years in hospitality, working in bars and nightclubs."
Hypnotherapy: Early 2010s
Mr Polanski was infamously working as a hypnotherapist in London when set up by The Sun newspaper for a sting, where he appeared to say he believed hypnotherapy could increase women's breast sizes.
Asked by ITV's Good Morning Britain whether he believed at the time that hypnosis could enlarge a woman's breasts, he said "no", adding: "I was misrepresented, I apologised a day later."
It was later claimed that Mr Polanski was never a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy, despite claiming that status while working as a hypnotherapist.
He left this career behind in the mid-2010s to pursue politics, initially with the Liberal Democrats, before joining the Green Party in 2017. He unsuccessfully stood for the Greens at an election a year later.
London Assembly member: May 2021 - present
advocate for electoral reform and has been a spokesperson for Make Votes Matter.
His responsibilities for the 2025-26 term are as:
- Chairman of the fire committee,
- Member of the environment committee,
- Member of the budget and performance committee,
- Member of the economy, culture and skills committee
Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales: September 2025 - present
At the local elections, the Greens won 116 seats and the historic win of its first mayor in London, with Zoe Garbett winning Hackney. Mr Polanski said afterwards: “The two-party politics is no longer dying; it is dead and buried.”
The votes came not long after he retweeted an X post accusing Met officers handling the incident of “repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head”, when he had already been tasered.
His comments were met with backlash from Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, who called his comments “inaccurate and misinformed” and warned they would “inflame tensions”.