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| Ex-Reform MP Lowe will not face charges over alleged threats | Ex-Reform MP Lowe will not face charges over alleged threats |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 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. | 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". | 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. | "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". | 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. | "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". | 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. | 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. | 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. | "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." | "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. |