Zack Polanski Falsely Claimed to Have Worked at the Ministry of Justice

Zack Polanski falsely claimed to have worked at the Ministry of Justice while campaigning for elected office. In reality, he was a freelance actor for the role-play used when interviewing judges. The Telegraph has the story.

The Green Party leader said on his official campaign website in 2020 that he was “currently working at the Ministry of Justice on their training and diversity programmes”.

The Telegraph, however, understands that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has no record of Polanski ever working for the department.

When asked about the claim, a spokesman for Polanski said he had worked for the “justice assessment committee”, which he described as “a programme to improve the diversity of justice appointments based in the MoJ”.

This committee does not exist. The only known public reference to a “justice assessment committee” appears to be a comment made by Polanski himself during a City Hall meeting in 2024.

When challenged over the discrepancies, the Green Party leader eventually admitted that, rather than working at the Ministry of Justice, he had been hired through an agency that supplied actors for role-play scenarios to a quango responsible for interviewing would-be judges.

As part of the recruitment process, judicial candidates take part in mock courtroom exercises in which actors play criminals, prison guards and lawyers.

Kreate, the agency Polanski was signed up to, supplied those actors. Kreate, which also provides actors and dancers for PR stunts and “high profile events”, describes its actors as a “diverse bunch of lovelies from all walks of life”.

It says the work is “not a permanent position” but “ad hoc”, and suitable for those “looking to supplement another income”.

Since entering politics six years ago, Polanski has faced repeated scrutiny over a colourful career history that included work as a minor actor and part-time hypnotherapist.

In particular, he has sought to distance himself from a 2013 claim that he could increase a woman’s breast size using the power of his mind.

On Friday, the Greens’ leader declared two-party politics “dead” after his party made historic gains across inner London and university cities. The victories, however, which included seizing four local authorities and two mayoralties, fell short of the predicted “green wave” and came after he was forced to correct previous claims about his career history.

On the eve of the local elections, Polanski admitted that, despite repeatedly claiming otherwise while campaigning for elected office, he had never in fact been a “spokesperson” for the British Red Cross.

He is also facing questions over his council tax affairs after evidence emerged suggesting he had spent the past three years living, at least part-time, on a narrowboat moored in a non-residential marina in Hackney.

Worth reading in full.