Mark Adderley #

Introduction #

Mark Adderley is a Green Party politician in the London Borough of Croydon, and the husband of the television presenter and Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha. On 5 May 2026 — two days before Londoners went to the polls — the Evening Standard reported that Adderley, who was standing as a candidate in the Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward of Croydon, had been suspended by the party following allegations that he shared antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories about Jewish people on social media. He went on to win the seat, but per a Green party spokesperson, having been suspended at the time of the election he would not sit as a Green councillor and would instead sit as an independent. Adderley denies allegations of antisemitism and says his suspension is a “no-fault suspension” in which he has not been found guilty.

Background Information #

Adderley contested the Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward in the May 2026 local elections on behalf of the Green Party in Croydon. He is married to Nadia Sawalha, the actor and longtime panellist on the ITV talk show Loose Women, a connection that drew outsized media attention to a local council contest.

He was running in a difficult climate for his party. The Standard reported that at least nine Green Party candidates standing in the local elections in London had been accused of posting antisemitic content online, and that the party’s leader, Zack Polanski — described by the paper as the only Jewish leader of a major UK political party — had rejected claims that he was failing to do enough to tackle racism. Two Green candidates in Lambeth, Saiqa Ali and Sabine Mairey, were arrested by Met Police officers on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred after allegedly posting antisemitic comments online.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

The allegations against Adderley were published by the Evening Standard on 5 May 2026, in a report by chief political correspondent Rachael Burford. The paper reported that he had been suspended by the Green Party following allegations that he shared antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories about Jewish people on social media. Among the material he was said to have shared was one video which, as characterized by the Standard, attributed responsibility for the Golders Green ambulance attack in March to Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The attack had targeted Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green on 23 March, and a string of Green candidates were reported to have shared material connected to it.

Adderley denies allegations of antisemitism. After the election, the Guardian reported that Adderley had “also been suspended over reports he allegedly shared antisemitic content on social media,” grouping his case with suspensions of other newly elected councillors whose social media histories were flagged in the post-election scrutiny. The Guardian’s roundup of the 2026 intake drew on a dossier compiled by the anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate; the Green cases it described, including Adderley’s, were reported alongside that material.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

The story broke as part of a wider political storm over antisemitism in the run-up to the London elections. Communities Secretary Steve Reed accused the Green Party of failing to do enough to tackle antisemitism within its ranks, saying: “We need the Green Party to do what the Labour Party did and kick out members of their party who are openly antisemitic.” Labour also accused the Greens of not taking the issue seriously enough after Sabine Mairey was seen campaigning with members over the weekend despite being under party investigation.

Polanski, pressed on the issue, said the rise in antisemitism is an “emergency” which needs addressing, and told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “Now I’m not saying that we’ve got it right, I don’t think any party has, because antisemitism exists in society as does islamophobia and many forms of racism, and it’s important that every political party is always working to bring more training and better vetting.”

Despite the suspension, Adderley was elected in Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood. The Guardian reported that he and the other suspended Green candidates would not sit as Green councillors: a Green party spokesperson said, “All three of these candidates were suspended from the Green party at the time of the election so will not be able to sit as Green party councillors. They will sit as independents.”

Current Status #

As of the most recent reporting, Adderley is an elected councillor for the Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward in Croydon who sits as an independent rather than with the Green group. He remains suspended by the party, and in a statement to the Guardian he rejected any finding against him: “My suspension is a no-fault suspension and is an internal matter within the Green party that will soon be resolved. I have not been found guilty of antisemitism.” No criminal allegation has been reported against Adderley personally; the arrests in the wider Green Party story involved the two Lambeth candidates. The outcome of the Green Party’s internal process had not been reported.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The suspension cost Adderley the party label on the council he had just been elected to: a winning candidate who took office as an independent, stripped of the Green whip before his first council meeting had been reported. His statement that the matter “will soon be resolved” frames the suspension as procedural rather than a verdict, but until the party concludes its process his position remains that of a councillor under internal investigation over allegations he denies. The case also tied a local Croydon contest to a national story — one of at least nine London Green candidates accused in the same cycle — and, through his marriage to Nadia Sawalha, brought the allegations to an audience far beyond Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood.