Reform's former head of communications has delivered some home truths on the row between Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe.
It comes as the two MPs escalate a bitter war of words after the party suspended Lowe on Friday over complaints about his conduct.
The MP for Great Yarmouth has strenuously denied allegations of bullying and making verbal threats against Reform's chairman and has hinted at taking libel action against his party.
The row has surprised pollsters and voters as Reform has been riding high in the polls following the election last year, with the public punishing Labour over its bumpy start and the Conservatives failing to find their feet.
Reform's former head of communications issued an ominous warning about the party's future two months prior to the bust-up
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However, for one party apparatchik, it's not so much surprise but disappointment that's colouring his mood.
Gawain Towler, Reform's former head of press and active campaigner, tells GB News that the whole episode has been regrettable but not entirely unexpected for a party in transition.
"As we grow, professionalise and develop, some noses will be put out of joint, some corns will be trodden upon, it's not what we desire, but it's the nature of the beast," he said.
This is not the first time Towler has warned the party would face setbacks as it grows in size and stature.
An interview we conducted with the former head of communications two months before the Rupert Lowe affair seems more prescient than ever.
With Reform buoyed by the opinion polls, Towler put the positive spin into perspective.
"In life, you have to grasp every opportunity that comes your way, but that doesn't mean that sometimes when you grasp it there won't be some nettles in there," he told GB News back in January.
Towler continued: "You just have to live with the nettles. We are going to make mistakes. There will be errors. Especially as we win things. It's the nature of the beast."
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The whole episode has been regrettable, but not entirely unexpected for a party in transition, Towler tells GB News
GETTYIf anyone can ride out the storm it's Farage, he said, adding: "When the storm blows it will be tough but the scars on Farage's back have grown scars themselves."
At one stage of the interview, Towler made a comment that seems particularly prophetic.
Referring to the two main parties, who will try to exploit Reform's internal divisions, he said: "They will get nasty as they see their patronage vanishing.
"Wrong'uns will slip through the cracks."
