Police probe ‘verbal threats’ claim as Reform UK suspends MP Rupert Lowe

Reform UK has suspended MP Rupert Lowe and reported him to the police, accusing him of threatening violence towards the party chairman a day after he criticised leader Nigel Farage.

Scotland Yard said a complaint of “verbal threats” made on Thursday about an alleged incident last December was being assessed by officers after Mr Lowe, who was elected to his Great Yarmouth seat last year, lost the whip on Friday.

In a statement, Reform said it had received evidence of “serious bullying” and “derogatory” remarks made about women in the MP’s offices, with two separate staffers said to have made allegations.

He was also accused of having “on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence” to party chairman Zia Yusuf, who said the matter was “with the police”.

Mr Lowe denied the claims, describing the statement as “vexatious” and saying the complaint to police “obviously went in just after I asked reasonable questions of Reform’s leadership”.

In a statement on Friday, a Metropolitan Police spokesman 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.”

Mr Lowe pointed to the timing of the complaint, describing the move as a “malicious attempt to drag my name through the mud”.

“A complete inability to accept even the most mild constructive criticism without such a malicious reaction is not effective leadership,” he said.

Mr Farage said that a King’s Counsel had been appointed by the party last week to look at the bullying complaints made by two separate women working for Mr Lowe.

It comes after internal splits within the right-wing party, which has five MPs, opened up on Thursday as Mr Lowe told the Daily Mail that Reform remains a “protest party led by the Messiah” under Mr Farage.

Asked whether the former Ukip leader had the potential to become prime minister, as his supporters have suggested, Mr Lowe said: “It’s too early to know whether Nigel will deliver the goods. He can only deliver if he surrounds himself with the right people.”

On Friday, the party claimed it had received complaints from two women, one working in Mr Lowe’s parliamentary office and one in his constituency office, about “serious bullying”.

It claimed evidence was provided of the “targeting of female staff who raised concerns” and of remarks “including reference to a perceived disability”, and suggested allegations had also been made to parliamentary authorities.

“We feel we have a duty of care to all our staff, whether employed directly or indirectly,” the statement from Mr Yusuf and chief whip Lee Anderson said.

“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 co-operate with this investigation.”

Reform later confirmed that Mr Lowe had lost the whip.

The MP said he had been “pushing for progress behind closed doors” within the party for months before speaking publicly, and complained that “the day after, I find a knife in my back over false allegations”.

He claimed he had spoken at length with the senior barrister hired by the party to look into what he described as “a minor staff matter”, and suggested the complaints regarding women did not relate to his behaviour.

Mr Lowe said he would be “seeking legal advice immediately”, adding later: “The independent lawyer (KC), instructed by Reform, has advised me to say the following.

“The Party was precipitous to state that these allegations had been made without also saying that the Party has commissioned an independent investigation and the investigation has not yet got under way to look at all the evidence and evaluate its veracity.”

A House of Commons spokesperson said: “Parliament’s Behaviour Code makes clear the standards of behaviour expected of everyone in Parliament, whether staff, members of the House of Lords, MPs or visitors. There is zero tolerance for abuse or harassment.

“The Behaviour Code is supported by the Independent Complaints and Grievances Scheme (ICGS).”