Police investigation launched into alleged ‘verbal threats’ by Reform MP Lowe

A police investigation has been launched into claims of “verbal threats” allegedly made by MP Rupert Lowe.

The 67-year-old MP for Great Yarmouth was suspended by Reform UK on Friday amid allegations about his conduct, which he denies.

In an interview on right-wing commentator Dan Wootton’s YouTube channel, he suggested he was suspended by Reform UK for being a “tall poppy” who threatened to overshadow Nigel Farage – as the leader claimed there had been a “behavioural problem” for months.

The Metropolitan Police would not identify the subject of the allegations but released a statement that said: “The Metropolitan Police have now launched an investigation into an allegation of a series of verbal threats made by a 67-year-old man.”

The force said it is claimed that the alleged threats were made between December 2024 and February 2025, and that inquiries are ongoing.

In a statement on Friday, Reform said Mr Lowe had been reported to the police over alleged “threats of physical violence” to party chairman Zia Yusuf.

It also claimed that two women working in the MP’s offices had made complaints about “workplace bullying” and “derogatory remarks”.

Mr Lowe has strenuously denied the claims, saying the allegations of bullying do not relate to him and were made by staff who themselves faced disciplinary action.

He released a statement on Tuesday about the police investigation that said: “My lawyers have made contact with the Met Police, and have made them aware of my willingness to co-operate in any necessary investigation.

“My lawyers have not yet received any contact from the police.

“It is highly unusual for the police to disclose anything to the media at this stage of an investigation.

“I remain unaware of the specific allegations, but in any event, I deny any wrongdoing. The allegations are entirely untrue.”

The former Southampton FC chairman told Wootton it was “highly unlikely” he would return to the party but that he was not intending to stand down.

The MP was asked whether he thought the row could be linked to X owner and key member of Donald Trump’s administration Elon Musk, who in January expressed doubt about Mr Farage’s leadership and suggested he might support Mr Lowe.

“I owe a huge debt to Elon Musk because without my X account which gives me a voice, this may well have ended very differently, because I think in the past anyone who has (been), if you like, a poppy that stood up too tall has been chopped down,” he said.

“I have been thinking about it in my own mind and I sort of wonder whether in a country that I think is becoming increasingly used to lies, somebody who stands up in Parliament and tells the truth is seen as a tall poppy.”

He added that his contact with Mr Musk has been limited to “a little bit of DM’ing on Twitter, not big, a thumbs up or whatever, and he retweets quite a lot of what we put on Twitter, or on X”.

“That’s the extent of it. There is no more to it or less to it than that,” he said.

Asked whether he would consider forming his own party, the MP said he had not “got to the stage yet where I can make any decisions”.

“You’ve got to look at the pattern of relationships with Nigel, throughout his career, whether it’s Carswell, whether it’s Bloom, whether it’s almost anybody who is, in his view, either threatening him or is capable enough to take over from him, he tends to fall out with them.

“And I think if you look, they’ve suffered a very similar fate to the one that they’re trying to sentence me to.”

Godfrey Bloom was suspended from Mr Farage’s former party, Ukip, after the then-MEP called a group of women “sluts”, while there were longstanding tensions between the then-leader and Ukip MP Douglas Carswell.

Meanwhile, Mr Farage said there had been a “behavioural problem” relating to Mr Lowe for months.

He told GB News: “There has been a behavioural problem for some months – outbursts, anger, that kind of thing.”

He added that he was not “pre-judging” any allegations but that “any party who had a senior figure that was facing those accusations had to act in some way”.

It comes after internal splits within the right-wing party – which had five MPs elected at the last election – 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 he thought the former Ukip leader had the potential to become prime minister, as his supporters have suggested, the MP 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.”