Reform UK has suspended MP Rupert Lowe and reported him to the police over alleged threats of physical violence towards the party’s chairman.
A statement from chair Zia Yusuf and chief whip Lee Anderson MP also said the party has received complaints from two female employees about alleged serious bullying in Mr Lowe’s offices.
Mr Yusuf and Mr Anderson said “we understand complaints have been made to parliamentary authorities”.
Mr Lowe, 67, has released a statement saying the allegations were “untrue and false”, the accusations of physical threats were “outrageous and entirely untrue”, and he referenced a “vexatious complaint” made by another staff member.
Mr Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth, has had the whip suspended, meaning he will sit as an independent MP in the House of Commons.
Mr Yusuf and Mr Anderson said in their statement that Mr Lowe had “on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence against” Mr Yusuf.
The statement said: “It is with regret that we feel obligated to disclose that the party received complaints from two female employees about serious bullying in the offices of the member of parliament for Great Yarmouth, Rupert Lowe.”
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It added: “Evidence was provided to us of workplace bullying, the targeting of female staff who raised concerns, and evidence of derogatory and discriminatory remarks made about women, including reference to a perceived disability.
“We feel we have a duty of care to all our staff, whether employed directly or indirectly. Accordingly, we appointed an independent King’s Counsel to conduct an investigation into the veracity of these complaints. To date, Mr Lowe has yet to cooperate with this investigation.
“In addition to these allegations of a disturbing pattern of behaviour, Mr Lowe has on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence against our party chairman. Accordingly, this matter is with the police.
“Reform stands for the highest standards of conduct in public life, and we will apply these standards without fear nor favour, including within our own party.”
Rumblings of leadership challenge
Earlier this week, Mr Lowe appeared to question Nigel Farage’s leadership of Reform UK.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Mr Lowe said: “Nigel is a fiercely independent individual and is extremely good at what we have done so far. He has got messianic qualities.
“Will those messianic qualities distil into sage leadership?
“I don’t know.”
He added: “I’m not going to be by Nigel’s side at the next election unless we have a proper plan to change the way we govern from top to bottom.”
During Mr Farage’s online falling out with Elon Musk, in which the Tesla businessman said Reform needed a new leader, Mr Lowe drew praise from Mr Musk.
And in the interview with the Daily Mail, Mr Lowe noted that he was “barely six months into being an MP” and “in the betting to be the next prime minister.”
‘Disappointed but not surprised’
In his response to the allegations, Mr Lowe said on Friday the party leadership had a “complete inability to accept even the most mild constructive criticism without such a malicious reaction”.
He said in a statement posted on X: “I am disappointed, but not surprised, to read Reform’s untrue and false allegations. Let me be abundantly clear – this investigation is based on zero credible evidence against me, as has been repeatedly stated by the neutral investigator. None has been provided.
“I have cooperated and spoken at length with the KC they instructed, at great cost to the party, to investigate a minor staff matter.”
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He claimed the lawyer was “dismayed” the statement from Reform UK had been published – and that the investigation had not even started.
Mr Lowe claimed the lawyer told him that “no credible evidence has been given”.
The MP added that he was sent an initial letter of complaint last Friday from the party with “no evidence provided”.
“I have never made any derogatory comments about women, or those with disabilities. This is a lie. These allegations are not even referring to me. I will be seeking legal advice immediately,” he added.
Political correspondent
It sounds too weird to be true, but Elon Musk may very well be the reason that Reform UK is embroiled in a messy public battle with one of its five MPs.
Detailed and damning statements released on Friday look to be the culmination of months of growing division between Nigel Farage and Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe.
The allegations against him are serious, numerous and have triggered three possible investigations – from the party, the parliamentary authorities and the police.
His rebuttal is equally robust, indicating he will fight hard to clear his name.
But is this battle just about his behaviour? Or is it because of his leadership ambitions? And were they ignited after a bizarre intervention from across the pond?
In January, Musk posted on X, calling for Farage to step down, saying he wasn’t up to the job, and later suggested Lowe could step up as he ‘makes a lot of sense’.
Two months later and relations had broken down beyond repair, with a war of words erupting this week in the papers, in which Lowe called Farage messianic and he responded saying the MP probably wanted to be prime minister.
There is no doubt that an endorsement from the world’s richest man would flatter the ego of any aspiring politician.
But given Friday’s revelations, it seems that instead of kick-starting his rise to the top of Reform, Musk’s meddling has instead severed his ties with the party for good.
‘Vexatious’ complaint
Mr Lowe continued: “It is no surprise that this vexatious statement has been issued the day after my reasonable and constructive questions of Nigel and the Reform structure. It was issued on X late on a Friday afternoon, with no prior warning.
“All I stated was that communication needs to improve, delegation needs to improve, structure needs to improve – these are all reasonable requests of a party looking to form the next government. I stand by everything I said.”
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His response added: “I do not believe that Reform members will be pleased to know that their membership fees are being spent on instructing expensive lawyers to investigate their own MPs, over matters that are entirely baseless and have been dealt with in the correct Parliamentary procedure, with HR’s full involvement and support.
“The staff member in question only raised a vexatious complaint once disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against them for serious wrongdoing. The other individual mentioned, dropped her appeal.”
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Mr Lowe said he had been trying to change the way Reform is run “behind the scenes” for many months, and urged his supporters to “stay with the party”.
He said: “This is our party as much as it is Nigel’s.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “On Thursday, 6 March we received an allegation of verbal threats made by a 67-year-old man on Friday, 13 December.
“Officers are carrying out an assessment of the allegations to determine what further action may be required.”
