Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe faced heavy criticism after he failed to answer whether King Charles should be classed as a "white Briton" during a live BBC interview.
The hard-right politician, who was expelled from Reform UK after a dispute with Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf, was pressed on his claim that white Britons "will become a minority by 2063" in a weekend video.
Interview exchange
On BBC Radio 4's Today programme, host Nick Robinson noted that the forecast, from a 2025 report by the Centre for Heterodox Social Science, defines a white Briton as someone whose parents were both born in the UK. This would exclude King Charles, whose father, Prince Philip, was born in Greece.
Robinson asked: "Are you aware that, by the definitions used in that particular report, King Charles is not a white Briton? Do you think he is a white Briton?"
Lowe responded: "Well, many people have different interpretations of that, Nick. I mean, we can split hairs."
Dodging the question
Robinson pushed back: "We're not splitting hairs, do you think the monarch of this country is a white Briton?"
Lowe said: "The experience of what we're talking about is quite clear and I think most British people, if you speak to them, would agree. And that is why Restore Britain's membership is growing very fast and your listeners are dropping equally fast, because you don't reflect actually what's happening. You try and whitewash all the things that are happening."
Robinson accused Lowe of "ignoring the question." Lowe replied: "I'm not ignoring the question. It is a fact that, by 2063, white British people will be a minority on current trends. I don't think anyone disputes that."
Forecast disputed
Robinson pointed out that the forecast is widely disputed, saying: "What I was putting to you is that the basis of that forecast, which is widely disputed and based on a whole series of assumptions that none of us know whether they'll be true or not, is that you're only called a white Briton if both of your parents were born in this country. So, because Prince Philip was born in Greece, King Charles is not, under your definition, treated as a white Briton. Now let me go on and ask you a different question."
Lowe responded: "I did come on to speak about ostensibly the economic paper we've just put out, and about the issue with Nigel Farage, and you've managed to turn it into a discussion about British people becoming minority, white British people, by 2063. So look, please move on to another question."
Reaction
A Hope Not Hate spokesperson told The Mirror: "Rupert Lowe's refusal to answer such a simple question tells you everything about Restore Britain's politics. If your definition of Britishness is so narrow that you cannot say whether the King qualifies, it is not a serious analysis of modern Britain."
They added: "Lowe may be trying to keep its most extreme elements happy, but most people are not obsessed with bloodlines or deciding who is British enough. Restore Britain belongs to a terminally online fringe, not mainstream Britain."
