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Rupert Lowe threatens to sue Reform UK for libel over misconduct claims as feud with Farage escalates
There have been some developments overnight in the story about the Reform UK split – Nigel Farage suspending Rupert Lowe, one of the party’s five MPs, over alleged misconduct, which – by amazing coincidence – the party decided to report to the police on the day an interview was published quoting Lowe describing Farage as a control freak with limited interest in policy.
Ever since then, as Eleni Courea reports, Lowe and Farage have been slagging each other off. Lowe says the allegations against him are untrue, while Farage has said that a KC was already investigating complaints about Lowe before the Daily Mail interview was published. Farage also suggested that it was the ongoing disciplinary inquiry that triggered Lowe’s public outburst against him.
Here are the new developments.
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The KC investigating the allegations for Reform UK has said Lowe was not telling the truth when he said on Friday that she was shocked and dismayed by how the party was handling the allegations. The lawyer, who has not been named but whose identity has been verified by the BBC, told the BBC:
I have seen a number of statements made by Mr Lowe MP which are attributed to me and which describe my reactions to the process conducted by the party into the allegations made against both Mr Lowe MP and his constituency manager.
I find myself in the unfortunate and regrettable position of having to make this statement to correct the record.
I have not expressed either ‘dismay’ or ‘shock’ at any time as to the process. Nor have I said ‘there is zero credible evidence against [Mr Lowe]’, let alone said this ‘repeatedly’.
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Lowe has threatened to sue Reform UK for libel. In his own statement to the BBC, Lowe said:
Ever since this malicious attack on my reputation was launched, all I have asked for from both Reform and the KC is credible evidence against me. None has been provided. It still hasn’t. The KC has said she has been ‘chasing’ for that. I have received nothing. Because there is no credible evidence against me …
I have been in discussions with my legal team this afternoon, and this will be followed by legal action in due course. I will not have my name dragged through the mud as part of a political assassination because I dared to question Nigel Farage. You have to stand up to bullies, and I am doing exactly that.
And this morning Lowe posted this on social media.
Day eleven of repeatedly asking to see any credible evidence against me.
Day eleven of repeatedly asking to see any credible evidence against me.
— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) March 10, 2025-
The former MP Andrew Bridgen, who was expelled from the Conservative party for backing false and offensive conspirary theories, has posted a message on social media backing Lowe.
The plot thickens .One of my former Parliamentary aides went on to work for Rupert Lowe - she is one of the staff involved in these allegations against him. She has told me that her original complaint had nothing to do with Rupert personally and was related to the actions of another member of his staff. I have her permission to post this tweet.
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The Daily Mail journalist Andrew Pierce, who did the interview with Lowe that led to his suspension, has said that Lowe was hosting a dinner for Reform UK donors only hours before he was reported to police – underming claims that by that point the party had lost trust in him.
In one respect, whether Lowe did or did not do what he is accused of is irrelevant. Reform UK is more tolerant of unsavoury behaviour than most other political parties, which is why some readers thought Farage must be making a joke when he wrote in an article in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday: “There have been too many similar outbursts from Mr Lowe, often involving the use of inappropriate language, to the despair of our chief whip, Lee Anderson.” Anderson, a former miner suspended by the Tories for making an offensive comment about Sadiq Khan, has never before been described as someone unduly concerned about “inappropriate language”. Few observers think this is a row about misconduct. In reality, it is power struggle. In all the parties he has run, Farage has frequently been accused of control freakery by colleagues and rivals, and in almost all cases he has consigned them to oblivion. Jack Tindale has pictured most of them in a meme on Bluesky.
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Rayner to try to cut planning delays by limiting number of bodies automatically consulted on applications
Ministers have announced they are going to cut the number of official bodies that are automatically consulted about planning decisions. The move is intended to cut red tape and to lead to more building, and more growth.
In a press notice explaining the move, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says:
Under new plans organisations such as Sport England, Theatres Trust and The Gardens Trust will no longer be required to input on planning decisions. The scope of other statutory consultees will be narrowed to focus on heritage, safety and environmental protection, speeding up the building process and preventing delays to homes being built.
“Statutory consultees” are official stakeholders legally required to provide advice on planning decisions to ensure developments can consider essential environmental, transport, heritage and safety elements. They play an important role in the planning system, but councils and developers report that the system is not working effectively …
The list of statutory consultees has also grown haphazardly over time and now includes over 25 organisations. Problems expressed include statutory consultees: failing to engage proactively; taking too long to provide their advice; re-opening issues that have already been dealt with in local plans; submitting automatic holding objections which are then withdrawn at a late stage; and submitting advice that seeks gold-plated outcomes, going beyond what is necessary to make development acceptable in planning terms …
Proposed changes will put support for growth at the heart of the statutory consultee process by;
-Consulting on reducing the number of organisations, including the impact of removing Sport England, the Theatres Trust and The Gardens Trust.
-Reviewing the scope of all statutory consultees, to reduce the type and number of applications on which they must be consulted – and making much better use of standing guidance in place of case-by-case responses.
-Clarifying that local authorities should only be consulting statutory consultees where necessary to do so, and decisions should not be delayed beyond the 21 day statutory deadline unless a decision cannot otherwise be reached or advice may enable an approval rather than a refusal.
-Instituting a new performance framework, in which the chief executives of key statutory consultees report on their performance directly to Treasury and MHCLG ministers.
The plans will be included in the planning and infrastructure bill due to be published tomorrow.
Commenting on them, Angela Rayner, the depuy PM and housing secretary, said:
We need to reform the system to ensure it is sensible and balanced, and does not create unintended delays – putting a hold on people’s lives and harming our efforts to build the homes people desperately need.
Starmer tells civil servants government plans for Whitehall efficiency savings will 'empower' them
As Eleni Courea reports, this week the government will be unveiling plans for “radical” civil service reform that will involve under-performing officials being incentivised to leave their jobs and senior officials having their pay linked to performance.
Today Keir Starmer has written to civil servants seeking to reassure them about what is coming, the BBC is reporting. In his letter Starmer praises civil servants for their “talent, commitment and ideas” and thanks them for their work. And he says:
The civil service must once again become the engine room of delivery for every person in every part of the UK.
Each one of you must be enabled to re-focus on your core purpose, away from the things that hamper your day to day work, delivering excellent, high-performing public services that improve people’s lives.
We know many of you feel shackled by bureaucracy, frustrated by inefficiency and unable to harness new technology. Your talent has been constrained for too long.
We are determined to empower you – not through words, but action – to maximise the collective power of the state.
Henry Zeffman, the BBC’s chief political correspondent, sums this up very well in his intro to the online story, which starts:
Keir Starmer has written to civil servants to promise reforms that will unshackle them from bureaucracy and stop their talent being “constrained”, as he seeks to sell officials on plans to cut their jobs.
Yesterday, asked if there would be a reduction in the overall number of civil servants under the plans, Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, told Sky News:
There could be, but what I’d like to see is fewer civil servants working in central London, more working in the regions where the property is cheaper.
Minister confirms people living near new pylons could get up to £250 a year off energy bills under planning reforms
A minister has confirmed reports that people living near new electricity pylons could be given £250 a year off their energy bills under government plans to overhaul planning rules.
In a story for the Times, Oliver Wright and Chris Smyth say:
Under plans to be set out this week, households living within a half a kilometre of new or upgraded power infrastructure could see their average electricity bill fall by almost 40 per cent a year.
The move is intended to reduce opposition to renewable energy infrastructure as Sir Keir Starmer makes a building boom the cornerstone of his push for growth …
The bill discount scheme — which is the equivalent to an annual payment of £250 over ten years — would apply to new above-ground transmission cables as well as structures such as substations and some significant upgrades of existing pylons. The legislation would also allow the scheme to be extended to other projects such as new onshore wind farms.
Ministers will also set out proposals to create community funds worth up to £200,000 per kilometre of overhead electricity cable in their area, and £530,000 per substation, to pay for projects such as sport facilities and youth centres.
In an interview with Sky News this morning, Alex Norris, planning minister, confirmed the report, saying “communities need to share the benefits” of the move to net zero. He said:
If you’re making that sacrifice of having some of the infrastructure in your community, you should get some of the money back. So we’re making that commitment , £250-a-year if you are near those pylons.
So we think that’s a fair balance between people who are making that commitment to the country themselves, well they should be rewarded for that.
Keir Starmer has posted a message on social media congratulating Mark Carney on the fact that he will become Canada’s next PM. But he is not promising a solidarity flight to Ottawa within the next week. (See 9.28am.) He says:
Congratulations to @MarkJCarney on his appointment as Canada’s new Prime Minister.
I look forward to working closely with him on shared international priorities, including in the G7, and to further deepening the UK-Canada relationship together.
My best wishes to @JustinTrudeau as he steps down from the role. I wish him well in his future endeavours.
Lib Dems urge Starmer to visit Canada to back incoming PM Mark Carney in his stand against Trump
Good morning. Keir Starmer and his government have got a busy week in domestic politics; today the crime and policing bill gets its second reading, tomorrow the planning and infrastructure bill is due to be published (there is a related announcement out now about energy bill discounts for people living near new pylons) and on Thursday the PM is due to give a speech about Whitehall reform. But the Trump/Ukraine crisis overshadows everything.
Last night Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, was elected leader of the Liberal party in Canada, which means he will become prime minister. Canadian election results don’t often take centre stage in UK politics, but Carney was elected promising fierce opposition to President Trump’s talk of annexing Canada and in London Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, is urging Starmer to fly to Ottawa this week “to stand in solidarity with the country’s new prime minister in response to Trump’s threats against Canada”. In a statement Davey said:
It’s vital for both British and Canadian security that we stand strong together. With global instability rising, it’s never been more important to show a united front with our Commonwealth friends – and to stand together against Trump senselessly turning the screws on his allies, whether that’s Canada, the UK or Europe.
Responding to the trade war along the North American border, our prime minister must stand in solidarity against Trump’s bullying and visit Ottawa in a joint show of strength. Starmer must be clear that Trump’s threats against Commonwealth nations’ sovereignty are unacceptable.
The Liberal Democrats have a long history of calling for things that have no chance of ever happening (normally the recall of parliament – something they normally press release in the first week of August), and Davey won’t be expecting Starmer to take his advice. But he has touched a nerve. Starmer angered Canadians during his press conference with Trump in the White House last month by refusing to answer a question about Trump’s stance on Canada, claiming the journalist who asked about it was “trying to find “a divide between us that does not exist”. And, with King Charles attending a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey this afternoon, there will be close interest in whether he says anything that might be seen as a comment about Trump’s plan to seize the country where he is head of state. As Sam Blewett writes in his London Playbook briefing for Politico:
Trump allies will be vigilant for any coded message Charles sends, following the warm reception he gave Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Sandringham shortly after the Ukrainian was ambushed by the president and JD Vance in the Oval Office. The king’s move struck a chord in the administration, with a US government official telling Playbook “people definitely saw it.” All eyes on whether Charles dons a maple leaf tie.
This is also the latest example of the Lib Dems’ attempts to capitalise on Starmer’s (understandable) reluctance to say anything openly critical of Trump. Last week Davey twice challenged Starmer in the Commons to accept that the US under Trump is now an unreliable ally on matters relating to the Russia. Starmer disagreed. For a PM negotiating with Washington, that was probably the right thing to say. But it is probably not the right thing to think.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Relatives of the Tory MP David Amess, who are demanding a judge-led public inquiry into his murder and the dealings his killer had with Prevent, hold a press conference before a meeting with Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper, the home secretary.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
1pm: Robert Hayward, a polling expert and Tory peer, gives a briefing on the May local elections.
2.30pm: Bridget Phillipson, education secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Afternoon: Michael Gove, the former Tory Cabinet Office minister, gives evidence to the Covid inquiry as part of its PPE procurement module.
3pm: Keir Starmer and other political leaders will join King Charles at Westminster Abbey for a service to mark Commonwealth Day.
After 3.30pm: Yvette Cooper, home secretary, opens the debate on the second reading of the crime and policing bill.
Also, at some point today, Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, and Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, are doing a visit related to the planning and infrastructure bill, which is due to be published tomorrow.
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