A new Lowe for Rupert as he has his dog shot

It’s been a wild ride for Rupert Lowe since arriving in Parliament as a newbie Reform MP just a year ago: gaining the support of Rupert Lowe to succeed Nigel Farage as leader, criticising Farage’s leadership, being booted out of the party, getting investigated for bullying and eventually having a probe into his conduct dropped.

Now there’s another event to tick off the Lowe bingo card: having his gamekeeper shoot his sick labrador.

Lowe has admitted to having put down a poorly pet to end his suffering, but outsourced the task to his gamekeeper rather than wait overnight to visit the vet, and said it was a “non-story”.

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“I would find it difficult, which is why my keeper did it,” Lowe told the Mail. “So you can call me a coward on that basis, if you want. I’ve got friends who can shoot their dogs. [They] just take them on a walk, put a shooting rifle at the back of their head and bang, done. They don’t feel anything. I would have found it hard. He was 17 and had been with us that long. I would be proud to tell you it was me who did it, [but] I can’t claim that credit.”

Vets strongly advise consulting them about putting down animals. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 does not explicitly prevent people from killing their own animals, but it does say that owners should avoid “unnecessary suffering” and that the death must occur “in an appropriate and humane manner”.

Speculation, meanwhile, still surrounds Lowe’s political future amid constant rumours he will seek to form a new political party to the right of Farage’s mob. The MP for Great Yarmouth – pretty much constantly on social media trumpeting his support for mass deportations and Lucy Connolly, the woman jailed after pleading guilty to calling for the arson of hotels hosting asylum seekers – is said to be working with former Reform deputy leader Ben Habin to launch a new operation.

Perhaps they should call it Rufform?