Rupert Lowe was hosting a dinner party for potential donors hours before he was reported to police by colleagues at Reform UK amid allegations of bullying and violent threats, the Mail can reveal.
The revelation the Reform MP was still hosting fundraising events alongside treasurer Nick Candy undermines claims by some in his party that he was ‘out of control’ and no longer a team player.
He is facing an independent investigation into claims of bullying at his offices. The party said it had received evidence of ‘serious bullying’ and ‘derogatory’ remarks made about women, with two employees said to have made allegations.
He was also reported to police over claims that he had threatened party chairman Zia Yusuf.
Mr Lowe, who had the Reform whip withdrawn on Friday, has denied the claims.
At the event last Thursday, Mr Lowe introduced prospective backers to Mr Candy at the exclusive private dining club Oswald’s in London’s Mayfair.
The event took place the same day Mr Lowe told the Mail in an interview that it was ‘too early’ to judge if leader Nigel Farage could become PM, insisting Reform had to change from being a ‘protest party led by the Messiah into a properly structured party’.
Mr Lowe claims the ‘vexatious’ claims against him were directly linked to his criticism of Reform’s leadership.
Rupert Lowe, pictured here with his wife Nicky, is facing an independent investigation into claims of bullying at his offices
Nigel Farage yesterday warned ‘constant infighting’ could harm the party
Deputy leader Richard Tice was challenged yesterday over why Mr Lowe had only been reported to police last week – three months after the alleged threat of violence.
He told Sky News: ‘There have been a variety of incidents. You get to the point where you cannot tolerate this any more.
‘If the situation has become impossible, which regrettably is where it had got to, and … it’s not going to end well. We made the right judgement.’
Over the weekend Reform insiders accused Mr Lowe of talking to the Mail to try to pre-empt the disclosure of the KC-led inquiry into the claims against him.
Mr Tice said: ‘Zia Yusuf made the decision to launch an independent investigation, by a KC, at the end of February.
‘Rupert was told at the end of February, sometime before the [Daily Mail] interview appeared.’
The interview with the Mail was held on February 25 and Mr Lowe was told by Reform of the allegations against him on February 28.
Mr Lowe said: ‘Nigel Farage refers to Reform as “his” party. It belongs to the members.
‘They built it. Spending their £2 membership subs on this vindictive plot to kick me out is a betrayal.’
Mr Lowe introduced prospective financial backers to Mr Candy at the exclusive private dining club Oswald’s
Former Conservative donor Nick Candy (R) poses for a photo with Nigel Farage
The war of words between Mr Lowe, who is consulting lawyers over possible defamation, and the party leadership is intensifying rather than dying down.
A friend of Mr Lowe, a former chairman of the premier league Southampton football club, said: ‘The party’s story is unravelling. If as Richard Trice says they could no longer work with Rupert why was he with the Reform treasurer at Oswald’s of all places?
‘He was with one of the most senior figures in Reform the night before they threw him under a bus with that extraordinary statement which is probably defamatory. It’s clear the statement was a knee jerk reaction by the party leadership because someone had the temerity to question Nigel Farage’s style of leadership.
‘The same people are suggesting that Rupert ran to the Daily Mail to try to get his defence in first before the bullying inquiry came out. But he spoke to the Daily Mail days before he knew anything about a KC being brought in.
Mr Lowe (pictured) who has said there is ‘zero credible evidence’ of bullying allegations made against him
‘The complaint to the police was because Rupert Lowe compared Nigel Farage to a Messiah. We all know what happened to the last Messiah.’
Mr Farage yesterday warned that the public ‘does not like political parties that engage in constant infighting’.
Writing for the Telegraph, Mr Farage said he was ‘acutely aware’ that the ‘never-ending civil war that came to define the last Conservative government’ had contributed to Labour’s majority.
Mr Farage added: ‘Reform UK matters more now than it has ever done before.
‘That is why it is so important that our party – and every single one of its representatives – behaves responsibly at all times. Nothing less will do.’
In the same piece, Mr Farage said Reform had ‘a duty of care to every single member of staff’ and the chairman was ‘entirely right’ to appoint a KC to ‘conduct an independent inquiry’ into the bullying complaints.
‘It is inconceivable that we could simply ignore such allegations,’ Mr Farage added.
