Reform UK has erupted into open civil war after the party said its MP Rupert Lowe had received complaints about bullying and had made threats against the party chair, a day after Lowe criticised Nigel Farage for being “messianic”.
Lowe responded with anger, saying there was no evidence to back up the bullying claims, and that it was “entirely untrue” that he had made threats. He again criticised Farage, saying Reform was “our party as much as it is Nigel’s”.
He also explicitly linked the allegations to his decision to criticise Farage, saying that the day after he had done this, he had received “a knife in my back over false allegations”.
In a joint statement by the chair, Zia Yusuf, and Reform’s chief whip, Lee Anderson, they said they were “obligated to disclose that the party received complaints from two female employees about serious bullying” in Lowe’s offices.
One of the complainants worked in Lowe’s parliamentary office and the other in his Great Yarmouth constituency office, they said, adding: “We understand complaints have been made to parliamentary authorities.”
The statement said: “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.”
A Reform spokesperson said Lowe had lost the party whip in parliament.
In a reply sent to the Guardian and posted on X, Lowe said he was “disappointed, but not surprised” at the statement, and that he had fully cooperated with the KC, saying she was “shocked” at what had happened.
He said: “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.”
On Thursday, Lowe, the former Southampton FC chair, criticised Farage’s leadership in an interview.
Lowe, who was touted as a replacement leader by Elon Musk earlier this year, had said Reform needed a “proper plan”, more policy and spokespeople. He also suggested he could leave the party unless it was centred less around Farage’s “messianic” leadership, and had a formal frontbench. There has been speculation within Reform about tensions between Lowe and Farage, especially after Musk’s intervention.
Farage responded angrily, saying Lowe would not have had a chance of winning a seat without his leadership of the party.
In his statement, Lowe said it was “no surprise that this vexatious statement has been issued the day after my reasonable and constructive questions of Nigel and the Reform structure”.
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.”
The statement went on: “If they want to kick me out over false claims, they’ll have to finally present some credible evidence against me. There is none, as the KC has just told me.
“A complete inability to accept even the most mild constructive criticism without such a malicious reaction is not effective leadership.”
