Zack Polanski, the new leader of the Green Party, has been studying one politician closely this summer – Nigel Farage.

The 42-year-old, who stormed his party’s leadership contest by a large margin, calls himself an “eco-populist” (he used to be involved in Extinction Rebellion), and thinks the Greens could learn a lot from the media-savvy tactics of Reform which have seen them surge ahead of Labour in the polls.

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Can the former actor and hypnotherapist, who rails against corporations and wants to tax the rich, take his party into the big leagues?

Speaking to him after his win was announced, Mr Polanski told me: “I despise Nigel Farage’s politics and I’d never copy what he does, but it’s undeniable that he cuts through; everyone knows who he is and that bold messaging – but for the truth, not the lies and misinformation he spins – that’s what you’ll hear more of from the Green Party.”

Mr Polanski is not an MP – he’s been on the London Assembly since 2021 and served as the party’s deputy leader. His two rivals in the leadership contest Adrian Ramsay, one of the party’s current leaders, and Ellie Chowns, were elected last year, but are not well-known to the public.

His more aggressive style and punchy social media clips appealed to party members impatient for results. His videos target “corporations who are destroying our democracy”; warn that “fascism is at our doorstep” and “call bullshit” – as he puts it – on the debate about asylum.

As one of the members at the event summed it up: “People don’t know what we stand for, we need to be loud and clear about what we’re for and what we’re against, and Zac will do that.”

He’s put some noses out of joint within the party, and the tabloid press has called him the “boob whisperer” after The Sun reported in 2013 that, while working as a hypnotherapist, he told a woman who wanted bigger breasts that she could do so with the power of her mind. Mr Polanski apologised and says he is focused on the future.

His ambitions are high for the fifth party in British politics – currently polling at around 10%.

“Thirty to forty MPs at the next election”, he says. Enough to deny Labour a majority if it’s close, or to be kingmakers. As politics fractures, he hopes they could have a big impact for the first time in decades.

The Green Party in the UK – unlike its counterparts in other European countries – has struggled electorally until very recently. It was formed in a pub in Coventry in 1972 by activists inspired by the US environmentalist Paul Ehrlich, who warned that the world was overpopulated, spelling disaster for nature.

Its biggest success was in the 1989 European elections, gaining 15% of the vote, but representation in parliament was not achieved until 2010 when Caroline Lucas took Brighton Pavilion from Labour. She became an influential campaigner on the climate, fracking and animal rights, also warning against economic growth at any cost.

After she stood down, the party struggled to find its voice, with Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party pursuing a radical left-wing agenda. Now, after winning four MPs last year, Mr Polanski believes that with Labour in government and Reform at its coat tails, their moment has come.

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He told members: “We can, and we will lower your bills. We will nationalise the water companies. We will hold this Labour government to account.

“Because when we look at Keir Starmer and what this government have been doing; whether it’s the two-child benefit cap, the disability cuts, the genocide in Gaza, my message to Labour is very clear: we are not here to be disappointed by you. We are not here to be concerned by you. We’re here to replace you.”

Mr Polanski is unashamedly pro-migration and trans rights. He’s also suggested Britain should leave NATO. He’d consider working with the incipient party being set up by Mr Corbyn and former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, with the support of some of the pro-Gaza independents.

All of that may not endear him to all the Green Party’s potential supporters. The party now has 860 councillors, but some are in rural areas where they’ve won seats from the Tories.

There is a political opportunity on the left. Mr Polanski says he knows what will get his party into the spotlight. But it’s a far bigger task to deliver seats in parliament – including one he’ll need for himself.

The alleged GPS jamming of a plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen by Russia raises concerns about air travel – but were there politics at play?

Jamming can overwhelm an aircraft’s GPS navigation systems, preventing them from working properly, leaving pilots to rely on other ways of finding out where they are.

The EU chief’s aircraft was reportedly forced to land at a Bulgarian airport using ‘paper maps’ – after circling for an hour on Sunday.

The EU said there was GPS jamming but the plane was able to land safely, adding: “We have received information from Bulgarian authorities that they suspect this blatant interference was carried out by Russia.”

But the timing of the allegation of GPS jamming – something reported to be routine along the Russian border – days before a crucial meeting of European leaders to discuss peacekeeping troops for Ukraine raises the question of why now?

Sky News has spoken to a pilot who was flying in the same area as Ms von der Leyen on Sunday, as well as a security expert with extensive knowledge of electronic warfare, to try and work out what happened.

What is GPS jamming?

GPS interference has become a known and widespread issue affecting aircraft over Europe in recent years, particularly since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022.

Experts generally point the finger at Russia, saying that Moscow uses GPS interference to defend against Ukrainian drones but maybe also to cause a nuisance for the West.

Jamming can overwhelm an aircraft’s GPS navigation systems, preventing them from working properly, leaving pilots to rely on other ways of finding out where they are.

Read more: How 1,500 flights a day are reportedly GPS jammed

What happened to Ursula von der Leyen?

According to the Financial Times, the ‘attack’ disabled GPS navigation services at Plovdiv airport in Bulgaria on Sunday afternoon.

The aircraft was deprived of electronic navigational aids as it approached, the newspaper said. It circled the airport for an hour before the pilot decided to manually land the plane, apparently using paper maps.

The area is near a known hotspot for GPS interference and blame was quickly levelled at Russia – a claim that Moscow denied. Russia has denied other instances of GPS jamming in the past.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said the alliance takes the jamming of GPS signals “very seriously” and is working “day and night” to prevent that jamming, to ensure “they will not do it again”.

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Pilot: Airport is in a known GPS interference area

Sean Fitzpatrick is an experienced pilot who regularly flies through areas known for GPS interference. Indeed, he flew within 40 miles of Plovdiv airport on the same day as Ms Von der Leyen.

He told Sky News: “That airport is in a known GPS interference area. Anyone flying in there would know that there’s a high probability of having GPS issues.”

While GPS jamming is a nuisance, pilots essentially turn off GPS receivers and rely on other aids like the instrument landing system, Sean said.

He added: “When I heard they were pulling out paper charts (to navigate) I’m like, why didn’t they just have an iPad?”

Given that GPS jamming of flights near the Russian border is reported to be routine, Sean was asked if the choice to reveal this particular alleged incident to the media – so close to the coalition of the willing summit this week – was political.

“Based on the information I have, that’s what it looks like… Based on what I’ve seen and the information that’s available to the public and what I know as a professional… I think there’s a bit of politics and sensationalism.”

‘We can make your life difficult’

Dr Thomas Withington, an expert on electronic warfare at the RUSI thinktank, agreed that there could be political angles to what happened.

“I think it’s quite hard to say with any degree of certainty whether her aircraft was deliberately targeted,” he told Sky News, noting that jamming signals are often sent out over a wide area. “But I’m sure that for Mr Putin it’s a very happy coincidence.”

He added: “Politically, what you’re saying is ‘we’re here, we can make your life difficult’.”

He also spoke about the wider impact of GPS jamming – and the possible dangers.

“I think it is important that the news went out there, because I think it indicates that Russia is an irresponsible actor, and these actions are grossly irresponsible, because you’re attempting to create a danger to international air travel, and there is simply no justification for that.”

He referenced the Azerbaijan Airlines flight in December, which was reportedly GPS jammed before it was mistakenly shot down by Russian air defences, killing 38 people.

“If those (Russian) actions cause loss of life, particularly in a NATO nation, I think it should be made very clear that a military response would be considered for that.”