Senior members of Reform UK are embroiled in a bitter row – with one of its MPs being suspended from the party.
Rupert Lowe, the Reform MP for Great Yarmouth, lost the party whip over the weekend, meaning he will now sit as an independent MP in the Commons.
It is a setback for party leader Nigel Farage, who has been on a mission to “professionalise” Reform as it seeks to capitalise on its position in the polls – which only a month ago gave the party a lead over Labour and the Conservatives for the first time.
But how did the row start, and what now for Mr Lowe?
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Alleged threats of physical violence
Mr Lowe, the former chairman of Southampton Football Club, was suspended last week after Reform reported him to the police over alleged threats of physical violence towards the party’s chairman, Zia Yusuf.
A statement from Mr Yusuf and Lee Anderson, the chief whip, also said the party had received complaints from two female employees about alleged serious bullying in Mr Lowe’s offices.
Mr Lowe, who served as a member of the European Parliament for the Brexit Party, has strongly denied the allegations, calling the accusations of physical threats “outrageous and entirely untrue”. He also referenced a “vexatious complaint” made by another staff member.
Mr Yusuf and Mr Anderson claimed the Great Yarmouth MP had “on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence against” the former.
“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,” they said in a joint statement.
“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…
