Zack Polanski has admitted falsely claiming to have worked for the Ministry of Justice — the second CV inaccuracy the Green Party leader has been forced to correct in the space of a week, raising fresh questions about his credibility at a moment when his party is enjoying its most significant electoral surge in years.
The Telegraph, which first revealed the discrepancy, found that Polanski’s campaign website stated in 2020 that he was “currently working at the Ministry of Justice on their training and diversity programmes.” When the outlet put the claim to the MoJ directly, the department confirmed it had no record of Polanski ever working there.
When initially challenged, a spokesman for Polanski said he had worked for the “justice assessment committee,” describing it as “a programme to improve the diversity of justice appointments based in the MoJ.” However, according to the Telegraph, no such committee exists — the only known public reference to it appears to be a comment Polanski himself made at a City Hall meeting in 2024. Pressed further, he eventually conceded that he had in fact been hired through Kreate, a third-party agency that supplies actors for role-play scenarios, to assist the Judicial Appointments Commission — an independent quango sponsored by, but not part of, the MoJ. The JAC uses actors to play roles including criminals, prison guards and lawyers during mock exercises for candidates applying to become judges.
Polanski responded on social media, writing: “Great memories of working inside the Ministry of Justice doing actor roleplay work — many of my former colleagues have remained friends!” His spokesman said the work was covered by a non-disclosure agreement, limiting what he could disclose. 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.”
The MoJ claim is the second false CV entry Polanski has been forced to walk back in a week. On the eve of last Thursday’s local elections, he admitted he had never in fact been a “spokesperson” for the British Red Cross, having repeatedly made the claim while running for elected office. He told the BBC he had hosted fundraisers and spoken on stage on their behalf, acknowledged he had used “the wrong word” and confirmed the claim had been removed. It has also since emerged that Polanski was never a full member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy, despite claiming that status while working as a hypnotherapist. He is additionally facing questions, reported by LBC, about whether he should have paid council tax on a houseboat he owned.
Most notably from his pre-political career, Polanski appeared in a newspaper feature in 2013 in which he attempted to enlarge a female reporter’s bust using hypnotherapy. He has since apologised for the episode, saying he did not charge for it and that it was misrepresented by the publication.
The revelations have drawn swift reactions from political rivals. Kemi Badenoch said: “I think that Zack Polanski is a man who is in over his head. He clearly thinks that politics is just something fun to do. I don’t think he’s thought through his views particularly.” Nigel Farage was characteristically blunt: “Maybe Polanski’s a fantasist. I’m not sure.”
The scrutiny arrives at an otherwise strong moment for the Greens. The party more than quadrupled its council seats to 587 at last week’s local elections, won control of five councils including Hackney, Lewisham, Waltham Forest, Norwich and Hastings, and made gains in the Scottish Parliament. Party membership has surged to over 215,000 since Polanski took the leadership. A source close to Polanski said he was “a real world person who has had many jobs that have helped shape his politics.”
