Former M&S Chairman Lord Rose to Robert Peston that he will leave the UK if Nigel Farage becomes Prime Minister.
“I’ll definitely leave the country,” he said.
Brexit
Lord Rose also said he fears next week’s UK-EU summit won’t be substantive. He said: “Nobody can deny that one of the issues about immigration is caused by Brexit… the issues in terms of our very poor economic performance is down to Brexit.”
Rupert Lowe
It comes as former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has branded Nigel Farage a “coward and a viper” after an inquiry into allegations he made “verbal threats” against the party’s chair was dropped.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it would not charge Rupert Lowe after reviewing the evidence handed over by the party.
“I am ashamed to have shared a parliamentary platform with them. Ashamed to have trusted them. Ashamed to have called them friends. Farage is no leader – he is a coward and a viper. I feel deeply embarrassed that I ever thought he was the man to lead,” Mr Lowe added.
Edward Leigh
It comes as Tory grandee has broken his silence after being named as a potential defector to Reform UK.
Sir Edward Leigh, who first obtained ministerial experience under Margaret Thatcher and now serves as Father of the House, was identified among a trio of top Tories placed on “defection watch”.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the Gainsborough MP said: “I’m not going to defect.
“Some people might say that I’m too old and idle to defect, and I certainly don’t want the aggravation, and I certainly don’t want to be disloyal to all the many people who supported me locally in 11 general elections.
“So, I’m not the defecting type. But I’m not sure that I’d want to defect anyway because the Conservative Party, for all its faults, it has many faults, has been part of our history for 200 years and I am perfectly happy to fight for it.”
Related: Watch: Top Tory admits Brexit asylum flaw in leaked clip
