MP loses bid to block Parliament watchdog probe

An MP has lost a bid to temporarily block the parliamentary watchdog from investigating a complaint against him – a complaint his lawyers have warned could end his career.

Rupert Lowe, the independent MP for Great Yarmouth, is taking legal action against the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which investigates reports of inappropriate behaviour by MPs.

It is investigating a complaint understood to have been made about Lowe last July by a third party, who cannot be identified.

Lowe wants the High Court to put an end to the investigation, and earlier this month he applied for an interim injunction to temporarily stop it, pending a hearing into the wider claim next month.

In written submissions, Christopher Newman, representing Lowe, said the "substantive claim to judicial review alleges procedural unfairness in the processes of ICGS, as well as perversity and illegality".

He warned: "The scope for unjust harm arising from an adjudicative process, in this case one which has the potential to end the career of a Member of Parliament, being infected by bias is very significant."

The ICGS opposed the injunction bid and is defending the wider legal challenge, arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over the matter and that it would interfere with parliamentary privilege.

Mr Justice Chamberlain dismissed the bid for an interim injunction, saying there was "a strong public interest" for the case to continue.

Newman had argued that while Lowe was "becoming a major force, arguably, in politics", temporarily blocking the ICGS from investigating the complaint would not harm the watchdog.

Sarah Hannett KC, for the ICGS, said that Lowe – who earlier this month announced the launch of a new political party called Restore Britain – was subject to rules and procedures setting out standards of behaviour for members of the House of Commons.

She said it meant Lowe was "answerable to the House" about the allegations, and that it was not "the constitutional role of the court to supervise or interfere with that".

A separate hearing on whether the court has jurisdiction to deal with the wider legal challenge is scheduled for 17 March.

In his ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the risk of harm to Lowe if the temporary block was not granted had been "overstated".

He also said it "seems very unlikely" that the ICGS would make any public findings related to its investigation before the March hearing.

"This public interest in the continued operation of the complaints process would be a weighty one in any case, and would be especially so if the claimant is, as Mr Newman says, becoming a major political force," he added.

The ICGS is responsible for investigating complaints related to bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct within Parliament.

Lowe was elected as a Reform UK MP in 2024 but was suspended by the party in March last year amid claims he had threatened then-party chairman Zia Yusuf.

He denied the allegations, and the Crown Prosecution Service said no criminal charges would be brought against him in relation to alleged threats towards Yusuf.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.