Ex-Reform MP Lowe will not face charges over alleged threats

Rupert Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth, will not face criminal charges in relation to an allegation of threats, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.

Lowe was elected as a Reform UK MP in last year's general election but was suspended by the party in March, amid claims of threats towards the party's chairman, Zia Yusuf.

Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS, said it made the decision not to press charges "following a thorough and detailed review of the evidence".

"Having considered a number of witness statements, we have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction," he said.

In a statement on X, Lowe said the Metropolitan Police were dropping their investigation into "false allegations" and accused Reform of carrying out a "brutal smear campaign".

"For the sin of asking legitimate questions about the party's direction, policies and leadership, I was vilified and targeted," he said.

Lowe, who now sits as an independent MP, also fiercely attacked his former party's leader Nigel Farage, calling him a "a coward and a viper".

Although the CPS statement does not name Lowe, the case relates to an incident at the Palace of Westminster in December 2024.

Mr McHaffie said: "The Crown Prosecution Service's function is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent, and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a criminal court to consider.

"Based on the careful consideration of this evidence, we have decided that our legal test for a criminal prosecution has not been met.

"The decision is also subject to the Victim's Right to Review (VRR) scheme which provides a victim or their families in some classes of case with a specifically designed process to exercise the right to review certain CPS decisions not to start a prosecution or to stop a prosecution."

Reform reported Lowe to the police on 6 March over claims of threats of physical violence directed towards Yusuf.

The party also hired a lawyer to investigate allegations of workplace bullying in his office made by two female employees.

Lowe denied wrongdoing and said the claims were retaliation after he criticised Farage in an interview with the Daily Mail, describing his then-leader's style as "messianic".

In her report, the lawyer Jacqueline Perry KC, concluded there was "credible evidence" Lowe and his staff had mistreated two female team members in ways that "seem to amount to harassment".

She also said Lowe had failed to "address the alleged toxic conduct" of male colleagues in the office.

Responding to her report, Lowe said the claims were "outright lies" and labelled the process "disgustingly bias".

Reform expelled Lowe from the party, having previously suspended him.

One of the women involved has also made a formal complaint to the Parliamentary Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.