A Liberal Democrat peer accused of sexual harassment will not speak at a party fundraiser after a U-turn.
Advertising for the event described Lord Rennard as the man responsible for a series of “spectacular by-election victories that rescued his party’s fortunes”.
It did not mention the allegations, by four women, which surfaced in 2013.
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Lord Rennard has now been dropped from the fundraiser, following anger from Lib Dem members and one of his accusers.
The row comes amid fears some in the Lib Dems want to bring Lord Rennard back into the fold, because of his expertise in winning elections.
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Members of the public relax on the beach at Botany Bay in Margate
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PA
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Police patrol the beach in Brighton
Getty
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MOD/Reuters
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UK Parliament/AFP/Getty
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The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
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Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute’s silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
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Staff at The Berkeley hotel give food to ambulance workers
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One of a small group of anti-lockdown protesters speaks to a police officer as they gather outside New Scotland Yard in Victoria, London
AFP via Getty
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Bonnie the Llama grazes in a field in the Scottish Borders alongside a sign supporting the NHS as the UK continues in lockdown
PA
36/50 30 April 2020
Colonel Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah celebrate his 100th birthday, with an RAF flypast provided by a Spitfire and a Hurricane over his home in Marston Moretaine. Colonel Moore, formerly a Captain, received a promotion in honour of his birthday and in recognition of the funds, in excess of £30m, he raised for the NHS by walking laps of his garden
Capture the Light Photography/Getty
37/50 29 April 2020
Britain’s Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions, as members of Parliament observe social distancing due to the coronavirus, in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday, April 29, 2020
UK Parliament/AP
38/50 28 April 2020
NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
39/50 27 April 2020
The sun rises behind redundant oil platforms moored in the Firth of Forth near Kirkcaldy, Fife. Global oil prices have crashed after the coronavirus pandemic reduced demand, with analysts warning that the oil majors may be looking at one of their biggest quarter-on-quarter profitability hits in history.
PA
40/50 26 April 2020
Frankie Lynch celebrates on the Mall where the finish of the London Marathon was due to take place today after running 2.6 miles instead of 26 miles to raise money for The Running Charity
Reuters
41/50 25 April 2020
A muslim woman walks past balloons outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
Reuters
42/50 24 April 2020
An empty Brighton Pier, closed during the Coronavirus pandemic as temperatures reach 20 degrees in the South East
Rex
43/50 23 April 2020
Farmers work with vehicles to prepare a field next to a field of flowering rapeseed near Pontefract, West Yorkshire
AFP/Getty
44/50 22 April 2020
The Northern Lights, the Milky Way and a Lyrid meteor at the Bathing House near Howick, Northumberland, as the Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak
PA
45/50 21 April 2020
Badger the Border Collie surrounded by bluebells at Shrawley Wood in Worcestershire
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A dog walker on Blyth beach in Northumberland
PA
47/50 19 April 2020
A piece of coronavirus themed street art grafitti in East London
AFP via Getty
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Members of the City Specialist Cleaning team spray disinfectant around posts in the town centre of Eastleigh, Hampshire
PA
49/50 17 April 2020
A taped-up bench in the hamlet of Diglea, Greater Manchester
AFP/Getty
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A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past graffiti in Bow, London
Reuters
The Independent reported earlier today that Worcester Lib Dems had advertised a virtual talk and Q&A with Lord Rennard on Wednesday 1 July. Members who wanted to take part were asked to pay £10 for a ticket.
It is understood that the local party initially stuck to its guns and wanted to proceed with the peer as the speaker, despite the outcry.
But it eventually accepted an offer from Mark Pack, the party’s president, to speak instead.
A spokesperson for the Worcester Liberal Democrats said: “While we organised the event with the best of intentions, on reflection we will no longer have Lord Rennard speaking.”
One of the women who accused Lord Rennard, Bridget Harris, a former senior aide to ex-Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, said the invitation smacked of some in the party trying to carry on “as if nothing ever happened”.
She said: “If ever there was an supreme example of a political elite getting away with it, it is Lord Rennard’s continual presence in the Liberal Democrats.
“There is no excuse for the current acting leader, Ed Davey, to ignore what is going on – the slow gaslighting of local parties to ‘move on’ and accept Lord Rennard back into the fold as if nothing ever happened. It’s a stain on the reputation of the party and why I left it.”
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Sources close to Mr Davey say it was his office which intervened to facilitate a replacement for Lord Rennard.
Lib Dem leadership candidate Layla Moran said she welcomed the decision. “It’s right for all organisations within the Liberal Democrats to consider the feelings of the brave women that came forward with complaints,” she added.
Another leadership candidate Wera Hobhouse said: “I wouldn’t have invited Chris Rennard to an event, and I think this decision was ill advised. I’m pleased to see the local party has dropped him from their event.”
An inquiry by Alistair Webster, QC, in 2014 found that there was “broadly credible” evidence that Lord Rennard had violated the “personal space and autonomy” of several of the party’s female activists.
He added that the high burden of proof required by Lib Dem party rules meant that he could take no disciplinary action against the peer, however, a move that prompted an angry response from members.
Lord Rennard has always denied the allegations against him.
The Metropolitan Police decided that there was insufficient evidence to pursue any of the allegations against the peer.
