Fury as Zack Polanski is cleared by London Assembly sleaze probe over council tax row on grounds he wasn't acting in a 'official capacity'

By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE and SAM MERRIMAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 11:22, 18 June 2026 | Updated: 11:22, 18 June 2026 The Tories have accused Zack Polanski of having a 'cavalier attitude' to the truth after the Green Party leader suggested he did not pay council tax due to 'financial hardship'. It came after Mr Polanski finally admitted that he had failed to pay council tax while living on a houseboat in East London following days of media scrutiny during the local election campaign. The findings of a sleaze probe into the furore were published this morning by the Greater London Authority, after complaints by both the Conservatives and the Labour Party. The report by the London Assembly's monitoring officer examined whether the Green Party chief breached the members code, including the Nolan Principles on honesty, integrity, accountability, openness and leadership. But the investigator swiftly concluded that Mr Polanski's tax affairs did not 'fall within an official capacity and were therefore not regulated by the code'. Neil Garratt, the leader of the City Hall Conservatives, said: 'Throughout this entire sad saga, Mr Polanski has avoided consequences the same way he avoided council tax: through happy accidents and gaps in legislation.  'It is beyond parody that a Left-wing politician who will take to the stage to demand other people pay their share of taxes, has then gone home and not paid his own or endeavoured to find out what tax he owes.  'But when a politician can have such a cavalier attitude with his CV, or even something as simple as where he lives, it does a disservice to politics.' This view was later upheld by legal opinion, which advised that Mr Polanski's conduct arising from his personal living situation 'did not fall within his official capacity as an Assembly Member and is therefore not regulated by the code'. The legal counsel noted that the members' code book only applies to conduct 'undertaken in an official capacity and that private behaviour is outside its scope unless there is a sufficient link to the members' public role'. In a submission to the investigation by Mr Polanski's lawyers insisted he had never knowingly participated in any vote affecting council tax whilst aware he was in arrears. Zack Polanski has been cleared by a sleaze probe at the London Assembly following complaints by the Tories and Labour The Daily Mail established that Zack Polanski was registered on the electoral roll at a building in a marina in east London where he kept a narrowboat The narrowboat was advertised for sale earlier this year for £100,000, but the notice was pulled after the Green Party leader's council tax arrangements were questioned They also accused the two complaints from the Tories and Labour of being 'vexatious, politically motivated' attacks, which 'constitute precisely the type of 'tit-for-tat' complaint that the GLA complaints procedure identifies as unsuitable for investigation'. In a submission to the probe by the Green Party leader, he confessed that he should have taken 'greater care' in understanding his 'unconventional housing arrangements' and its tax implications. But he insisted: 'I strongly refute suggestions that my honesty or integrity should be called into question.' The revelations about the hard-left politician's tax arrangements were revealed in early May, when the Daily Mail established that he was registered on the electoral roll at a building in a marina in east London where he kept a narrowboat. Mr Polanski had post delivered to the same marina building and regularly, over a number of years, had laundry collected from the canal barge he shared with his partner, Richie Bryan. Mr Polanski, 43, initially lied to the press that he only stayed on the boat occasionally, despite Mr Bryan referring to it as their 'amazing home' over the past three years in the advert. Government guidance clearly states that council tax is payable if a boat is a person's 'sole or main residence'. Analysis by tax lawyer Dan Neidle, from Tax Policy Associates, found that Mr Polanski and his partner's boat was not registered for council tax at the marina - despite another boat there previously being registered. The boat and mooring would be rated as Band A, meaning Mr Polanski could owe a total sum of council tax for three years of about £4,000, according to the analysis. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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