Former Reform UK lawmaker Lowe won't face charges over alleged threats

LONDON (Reuters) - British prosecutors will not bring any charges against former Reform UK party lawmaker Rupert Lowe over allegations that he made threats of physical violence against the party's chairman.

Reform UK, the right-wing party led by Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, has only five members of parliament but has recently overtaken Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party in opinion polls as Britain's most popular political party.

But Reform has faced divisions, with Lowe questioning Farage's ability to lead the party and U.S. billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk suggesting Lowe should replace Farage.

Reform referred Lowe to the police in March, saying he had made threats against its chairman Zia Yusuf and that it had also received complaints against the lawmaker from two female employees in his parliamentary office of serious bullying.

Lowe said the allegations were "untrue and false".

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement on Wednesday, without naming Lowe, that it had reviewed the allegations and concluded he would face no charges as there was "insufficient evidence" to secure a conviction.

Lowe, 67, suspended by Reform over the allegations, remains in parliament as an independent lawmaker.

He said in a statement on X following the CPS decision that he had been targeted by a "brutal smear campaign".

"Farage is no leader - he is a coward and a viper," Lowe said. "It's my view that the police process was weaponised to silence a party colleague who raised reasonable concerns."

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Gareth Jones)