The Metropolitan police are investigating the suspended Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe after the party alleged he had made threats against its chair.
A statement by the force, which did not name Lowe, said: “The Metropolitan police have now launched an investigation into an allegation of a series of verbal threats made by a 67-year-old man.”
The investigation was in relation to “a series of alleged threats made between December 2024 and February 2025”, the statement said, adding: “Further enquiries are ongoing at this stage.”
On Friday, Reform said the Great Yarmouth MP had lost the party whip after complaints about workplace bullying and “evidence of derogatory and discriminatory remarks”, and the claim that Lowe had “on at least two occasions made threats of physical violence against our party chairman [Zia Yusuf]”.
In a series of statements and interviews since the suspension, Lowe has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and argued that the party’s decision to suspend him was a politically motivated act of revenge after he had criticised Nigel Farage’s leadership of Reform.
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, suggesting he could leave the party unless it was centred less around Farage’s “messianic” leadership.
In a post on X, Lowe confirmed that he had been told about the Met police investigation and he had instructed lawyers to represent him.
He wrote: “My lawyers have made contact with the Met police, and have made them aware of my willingness to cooperate in any necessary investigation. My lawyers have not yet received any contact from the police.
“It is highly unusual for the police to disclose anything to the media at this stage of an investigation. I remain unaware of the specific allegations, but in any event, I deny any wrongdoing. The allegations are entirely untrue.”
Earlier on Tuesday, another senior ex-Reform figure, the former deputy leader Ben Habib, suggested Lowe could join forces with him in a breakaway rightwing party.
Habib, an outspoken critic of Farage, said he was “constantly in touch” with Lowe. Habib told the Telegraph that he and Lowe were “in politics for the same reason”.
Asked whether he would consider a joint-venture, he told the paper: “Ultimately the reason I joined Reform, and the reason I stood for Reform in Wellingborough, is because the only way you can make a difference is electorally.
“You’ve got to be at the ballot box and hold the electoral system to account … so the answer is yes, I think.”
