°®Âþµº

UK's right-wing party Reform UK has been thrown into disarray following serious allegations against one of its MPs, including threats of physical violence against the party's chairman and multiple claims of bullying.

Nigel Farage's party released a statement confirming that complaints had been lodged against Rupert Lowe for alleged bullying behaviour.

He allegedly made threats of physical violence against party chairman Zia Yusuf on at least two occasions.

The matter has been reported to the police, and an independent investigation is underway.

In a statement, Yusuf and Reform UK’s chief whip Lee Anderson confirmed that the party had "appointed an independent King's Counsel to conduct an investigation" into the claims.

Zia Yusuf, a Muslim businessman whose parents emigrated to Britain from Sri Lanka, became the chair of the populist partyÌýafter Richard Tice stood down.

Another two female employees of Lowe’s office reportedly filed serious accusations, including claims of workplace bullying, derogatory comments about women, and discriminatory remarks about disabilities.

Following the allegations, the party vowed to take a hard stance on any conduct that falls short of their "highest standards of public life" and claimed that it would not shield its members from scrutiny.

Lowe, 67, a relatively new MP for Great Yarmouth, denied the allegations, calling them "outrageous and entirely untrue".

He claimed that the accusations were the result of a "vexatious complaint" from a staff member, further insisting that the charges were fabricated with "no credible evidence".

He also pointed to a lack of transparency in the ongoing investigation, claiming that the independent lawyer appointed to look into the matter had not been provided with any substantial evidence.

This has fuelled growing tensions within the party, which has struggled with internal divisions since its inception. These tensions were further exacerbated after Lowe voiced dissatisfaction with Farage’s leadership.

Reform UK has been embroiled in multiple controversies in the last years - involving allegations of racism and Islamophobia.

During the 2024 general election campaign, undercover footage revealed party campaigners in Clacton making racist and Islamophobic remarks, including a derogatory term for Rishi Sunak and disparaging comments about the LGBT community.

Further scrutiny uncovered that several Reform UK candidates had histories of offensive social media activity. Candidates such as David Carpin, Ginny Ball, and Mick Greenhough faced deselection due to homophobic, racist, and Islamophobic posts.

Candidates like Jonathan Kay and Amodio Amato were linked to past racist and Islamophobic content online, including derogatory comments about public figures such as Sadiq Khan and Humza Yousaf.