Reform UK were in meltdown tonight after the party revealed they had stripped the whip from one of their MPs amid allegations of bullying staff.
In an explosive statement, party chairman Zia Yusuf and chief whip Lee Anderson said Rupert Lowe was being investigated over complaints by two female employees.
A top lawyer has been drafted in to look at the ‘veracity’ of the allegations against the Great Yarmouth MP, who has now had the Reform whip withdrawn.
They are said to involve ‘derogatory and discriminatory remarks’.
But Mr Lowe immediately hit back at ‘untrue and false’ claims and denied the party’s suggestion he was failing to cooperate with the probe by an independent KC.
He said the investigation into a ‘minor staff matter’ was based on ‘zero credible evidence against me’ adding that he would be ‘seeking legal advice’.
Mr Lowe railed against the party’s ‘vexatious’ statement, which also included an astonishing claim he had made repeated ‘threats of physical violence’ against Mr Yusuf.
The party said this was a matter than was now being dealt with by the police.
In a lengthy rebuttal to Reform’s statement, Mr Lowe said it was ‘no surprise’ that party bosses had publicly revealed the bullying probe a day after he clashed with Mr Farage.
In an interview with the Daily Mail yesterday, Mr Lowe had openly questioned Mr Farage’s leadership and accused him of acting like a ‘messiah’.
The businessman-turned-politician, a former chairman of Southampton Football Club, bemoaned his leader’s tight grip on the party and even floated the possibility of him replacing Mr Farage.
But Mr Farage branded the comments as ‘completely wrong’ and swiped that Mr Lowe wouldn’t have had a ‘cat’s chance in hell’ of becoming an MP without him.
Reform UK are in meltdown after the party revealed they had stripped the whip from MP Rupert Lowe amid allegations of bullying staff
The stunning allegations come just a day after Mr Lowe clashed with Reform leader Nigel Farage in a public slanging match
The statement from Mr Yusuf and Mr Anderson 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 MP for Great Yarmouth, Rupert Lowe.
‘One worked in his parliamentary office, the other in his constituency office, we understand complaints have been made to parliamentary authorities.
‘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.’
A Reform UK spokesman later confirmed that Mr Lowe ‘has had the whip withdrawn’.
Soon after the party’s statement was issued, the Great Yarmouth MP issued a lengthy response on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
‘I am disappointed, but not surprised, to read Reform’s untrue and false allegations,’ he said.
‘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.
‘I have just spoken to the KC. She is dismayed that this statement has been made, and reiterated that no evidence against me has been sent to her.
‘She stated that this has been issued before the investigation has even started.
‘She is shocked at the process, shocked at the communication from the party, and shocked that no credible evidence has been given, despite her repeated requests.’
Mr Lowe added: ‘Allegations of physical threats are outrageous and entirely untrue. 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.
‘There is no credible evidence against me, as the KC has stated on numerous occasions.
‘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.’
The MP defended his remarks about Mr Farage’s leadership as ‘reasonable requests of a party looking to form the next Government’.
‘All I stated was that communication needs to improve, delegation needs to improve, structure needs to improve,’ he added.
‘I have been pushing for this behind the scenes for many months, with zero success. I have been frozen out of meetings, policy discussions, press conferences and more.
‘My repeated requests for better communication and regular meetings have been ignored and mocked. Honestly, I have tried and tried – and will continue to try.’
In an appeal to party members, Mr Lowe continued: ‘To Reform supporters of mine, please stay with the party. We must win the next election. There is no other choice.
‘Infighting serves nobody but our enemies. This could have all been resolved with even the most basic level of communication.
‘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.’
He added: ‘A complete inability to accept even the most mild constructive criticism without such a malicious reaction is not effective leadership.
‘This is our party as much as it is Nigel’s.’
There have been tensions between Mr Lowe and Mr Farage (pictured) since Elon Musk – who has flirted with donating to Reform – told Mr Farage he ‘doesn’t have what it takes’ as leader
Mr Musk, who met with Mr Farage in Florida in December, appeared to endorse Mr Lowe as a replacement Reform leader in social media comments in January
There have been tensions between Mr Lowe and Mr Farage since Elon Musk – who has flirted with donating to Reform – told Mr Farage he ‘doesn’t have what it takes’.
The billionaire tech mogul, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, also appeared to endorse Mr Lowe as a replacement leader in social media comments in January.
In his Daily Mail interview, Mr Lowe took a swipe at Mr Farage by claiming Reform needed to ‘change from being a protest party led by the messiah into being a properly structured party with a frontbench’.
Mr Lowe said it was ‘absolutely staggering’ that he himself was ‘barely six months into being an MP and I’m in the betting to be the next prime minister’.
But asked if Mr Farage would make a good prime minister, Mr Lowe replied: ‘It’s too early to know whether Nigel will deliver the goods.
‘He can only deliver if he surrounds himself with the right people. 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 further questioned Mr Farage’s leadership of Reform, adding: ‘We have to start behaving as if we are leading and not merely protesting.
‘Nigel is a messianic figure who is at the core of everything but he has to learn to delegate, as not everything can go through one person.
‘So we have to start developing policy which is going to change the way we govern.
‘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.
‘We can’t raise the hopes of people who are so frustrated with the way we are governed and then flunk it.’
Mr Farage blasted back at Mr Lowe during an appearance on TalkTV, as he delivered a withering slapdown of his fellow Reform MP’s remarks.
‘We are not a protest party in any way at all – that is utterly wrong, utterly, completely wrong,’ the Reform leader said.
‘We are an entirely positive party. Come to any Reform event and the positivity, the energy…
‘If I’ve got a following out there, that’s a good thing. If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t have won any seats in Parliament at all on 4 July last year.’
Asked if this included Mr Lowe’s constituency of Great Yarmouth – which was one of five seats won by Reform at last year’s general election – he added: ‘There wouldn’t have been a cat’s chance in hell.’
Mr Farage continued: ‘We’re not a protest party and he’s on the front bench, so what’s he talking about? With only five people you can’t really have a shadow cabinet can you.
‘We’ve got a lot of development to do but we’re absolutely not a protest party.’
Asked why Mr Lowe had gone public with his remarks, Mr Farage replied: ‘Perhaps he wants to be prime minister?
‘Most people in politics do – half the House of Commons think they should be prime minister. His comments are wrong, we are making gigantic strides.’
Pressed on whether he had told Mr Lowe to ‘wind his neck in’, the Reform leader added: ‘There’s no point telling him what to do or what not to do. The fact is we are making huge strides.’
And asked if Mr Lowe will be a Reform MP at the next general election, Mr Farage said: ‘Well, I hope so but he seems to be taking a tone that says he might not accept us, but there you are.’
