Rupert Lowe, the independent MP for Great Yarmouth, has been caught on camera making an antisemitic joke in a leaked recording first released by The Guardian.
Lowe, who lost the Reform UK whip after a public falling out with the party’s leadership, reportedly made the remark during a meeting in Parliament earlier this year.
In the recording, he can be heard commenting on the size of the camera his interviewer had set up, saying: “In days gone by you would call it a Jewish camera, but that would be politically incorrect, because it’s so small.”
The comment prompted a burst of laughter in the room, including from Lowe himself.
An aide can then be heard saying to the interviewer: “It’s rolling is it now kid? Don’t include that.”
Another joked that, if the comment were included it would mean, “career over” for Lowe, who agreed: “A career over in a second.”
In response to the release of the footage, Lowe told The Guardian: “I don’t recall saying that, but if it was said, it was clearly a joke as anybody reading it can understand.”
However, he was condemned by the Board of Deputies, which said in a statement: “This is bizarre and outdated antisemitic language which has no place in our politics.
"Mr Lowe should apologise for the offence this remark has caused.”
It comes after Lowe, once tipped as a successor to Nigel Farage, was suspended from Reform UK after the party’s leadership made a number of allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him.
These included accusations of bullying staff and threatening party chair Zia Yusuf with violence. Lowe has consistently denied the allegations and claimed they were politically motivated.
The claims emerged after a public falling out between Lowe and Farage, particularly over whether Tommy Robinson, the jailed former leader of the far-right English Defence League, should be welcome in the party.
Lowe has also claimed that Farage turned against him after billionaire X owner Elon Musk said the latter “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead Reform and appeared to endorse the idea of Lowe replacing him.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced last week that it would not be advancing charges against Lowe over the alleged threats.
