Chris Philp, revealed on the Division Bell podcast that he thinks: “Rupert Lowe has been treated appallingly by Reform and by Nigel Farage in particular.”
Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe was suspended due to allegations of “verbal abuse”, the Met Police have also launched a probe into alleged threats of physical violence against Reform chairman Zia Yusuf.
Tory frontbencher Mr Philp defended Lowe saying he has been “subject to all kinds of vicious and vitriolic attacks”. Mr Lowe vehemently denies the allegations of verbal abuse, and has taken to X to publicly reach out to Mr Farage saying:
“My latest invitation for dinner with you did not receive a response, but I am going to make one last effort…You must stop your wicked assault on my character and reputation. It all must halt.”
When Christian Calgie asked if there was a place on the Tory bench for Rupert Lowe, Kemi Badenoch’s spokesman for home affairs said: “the Conservative Party is a broadchurch, and we’re always willing to welcome new people to our ranks.”
He was swift to add though: “I certainly haven’t had any discussion with Rupert Lowe, I’m not aware that anyone else has either, and obviously there is a police investigation. So I don’t really want to comment on the specifics of that case.
Mr Philp boldly stated that Reform are “fighting like rats in a sack and they’ve gone from fitting into the back of a black taxi to fitting in the back of a mini, pretty soon it will be a tandem bicycle and before long, a unicycle.”
Moving on from the specifications of the Reform fallout, Mr Philp maintained: “I’m concentrating on getting my own job done. I’ll leave them to fight in a corner but the public won’t be impressed by what they see in the Reform party.”
Listen to the full episode of The Division Bell to hear more from Mr Philp about the immigration binding cap, Rwanda, and predictions for the upcoming local elections.