Nick Clegg was forced into retreat last night under pressure from party activists over his response to a peer accused of sexual harassment.
The Lib Dem leader said that it would be “inappropriate” for Lord Rennard, a former chief executive of the party, to reclaim the whip unless he apologised to women who accused him of making unwanted advances to them.
Mr Clegg said that he would also consider whether or not the peer can be expelled from the party for bringing it into disrepute.
The party had previously insisted that there was nothing it could do to stop Lord Rennard rejoining the Lib Dem group in the House of Lords after an internal inquiry produced an inconclusive response.
The report by Alistair Webster, QC,