Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe reported to police over alleged threats towards party chairman
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.
Rupert Lowe. File pic: PA
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.”
Claims of ‘disturbing pattern of behaviour’
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.”
(L-R) Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and party chairman Zia Yusuf. Pic: PA
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.
Analysis: Could Musk have triggered mess within Reform?
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.
When it comes to his parliamentary career, salvaging his reputation could also prove difficult as other critical accounts of his character emerge.
Sky News has heard from Labour MP Mike Kane about an incident which took place in the Commons last December, during which he says he was “manhandled” by the then Reform MP.
The Transport minister described an angry scene in which Lowe had to be restrained by Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, and eventually broken up by the Sergeant at Arms.
Mr Lowe did not wish to comment on the claim, but it adds yet another obstacle in the fight for his political future.
‘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.”
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.”
A senior Labour MP has said the government needs to take “corrective action” over planned disability benefit cuts – as Sir Keir Starmer faces a growing backbench rebellion.
Tan Dhesi, chair of the influential Commons defence committee, told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge the “disappointing” local election results show the government must listen and learn, particularly over welfare reforms.
The government has proposed tightening the eligibility requirements for the personal independent payment, known as PIP.
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A claimant must score a minimum of four points on one PIP daily living activity, such as preparing food, washing and bathing, using the toilet or reading, to receive the daily living element of the benefit.
Mr Dhesi, the MP for Slough, said “corrective action” needs to be taken but insisted if the government changed tact, it would not be a U-turn as the disability cuts were only proposals.
Tan Dhesi spoke to Sky’s Sophy Ridge
“A government which is in listening mode should be looking at what the electorate is saying,” he said.
“And we need to make sure that it’s our moral duty, responsibility, to look after the most vulnerable within our community, whether that’s in Slough, whether that’s elsewhere across the country.
“So, I hope that the government will be taking on board that feedback and many of us as MPs are giving that feedback in various meetings happening here in Westminster and then we need to take corrective action.”
Alex Davies-Jones said the government was seeking to ‘protect the vulnerable’
Minister Alex Davies-Jones told the Politics Hub a Labour government “will always seek to protect the most vulnerable” and it wants to “listen to people who have got real lived experience”.
She added she has the “utmost respect for Tan, he’s a great constituency MP and he’s doing exactly what he should be doing, is representing his constituency”.
Sir Keir is facing a rebellion from Labour MPs, with about 40 in the Red Wall – Labour’s traditional heartlands in the north of England – reposting a statement on social media in which they said the leadership’s response to the local elections had “fallen on deaf ears”.
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Starmer defends winter fuel cuts
Several backbench Labour MPs also spoke out against the plans during a debate on PIP and disabled people in parliament on Wednesday.
Ian Byrne, MP for Liverpool West Derby, said he would “swim through vomit to vote against” the proposed changes and said: “This is not what the Labour Party was formed to do.”
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, said she feared tightening PIP eligibility would cause deaths, adding: “Lest we forget that study that attributed 330,000 excess deaths in Britain between 2012 and 2019 to the last round of austerity cuts [under the Conservative government].”
Diane Abbott, the longest-serving female MP, accused the government of putting forward “contradictory arguments”.
“On the one hand, they insist they are helping the disabled by putting them back to work,” she said.
“But on the other hand, they say this cut will save £9bn. Well, you can’t do both.”
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‘I’ll struggle if I lose disability support’
However, fellow Labour MP David Pinto-Duschinsky, said MPs cannot “ignore this issue” of health-related benefit claimant figures rising at “twice the rate of underlying health conditions”.
Responding for the government, social security minister Sir Stephen Timms said PIP claims were set to “more than double, from two million to over 4.3 million this decade”.
“It would certainly not be in the interests of people currently claiming the benefits for the government to bury its head in the sand over that rate of increase,” he added.
A man whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase had raped and blackmailed a teenager, a court has heard.
The remains of Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, were found in a suitcase and trunk which had been left near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol in July 2024.
Yostin Mosquera is on trial at the Old Bailey in London accused of murdering and dismembering Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth.
The 35-year-old denies both murders but has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Alfonso.
A witness, giving evidence under the pseudonym James Smith, appeared at the trial by video link on Wednesday.
Mr Smith said he met Mr Alfonso nearly 20 years ago when he was around 17 or 18 and had gone to his flat for drinks.
He said he remembered drinking heavily and then waking up with a “banging headache”.
“I said to him, ‘what’s happened?’ – he showed me a video of me on all fours and he was penetrating me,” he told the court.
“I didn’t know what to do. I was mortified. At this point, I didn’t know my sexuality – I was confused and scared.”
He said Mr Alfonso told him if he did “favours”, the video would never be shared.
Under cross-examination, defence barrister Tom Little KC asked: “Does it cross your mind, looking back, that you were raped?”
“Now, yes,” Mr Smith replied.
“And does it cross your mind that your drink may have been spiked?”, the barrister asked.
“Now, yes,” the witness responded.
“Does it cross your mind that you were groomed by Albert Alfonso?”, Mr Little asked.
“Now, yes,” Mr Smith said.
After the alleged incident, the two met regularly, with Mr Alfonso paying Mr Smith around £150 for each sexual encounter, the court heard.
During the COVID pandemic, the witness said he became closer with Mr Alfonso and began spending time with Mr Longworth.
Mr Smith told the court he was later introduced to Mosquera.
Yostin Mosquera is on trial at the Old Bailey. Pic: Metropolitan Police/PA
He said the relationship between Mosquera and Mr Alfonso was “good – very good”.
“I didn’t see anything that seemed like they disliked each other,” he added.
He described Mr Longworth as someone who “wouldn’t hurt a fly”.
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Mr Smith said the final time he saw Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth was on a Friday evening before the bodies were discovered.
“Albert gave me a hug, Paul gave me a hug, and that was the last I heard of those two,” he said.
The trial continues.
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