Nick Clegg saw Lord Rennard's apology to four women who accused him of harassment weeks ago, a friend of the peer claimed. Lord Carlile said it was not released as the ex-Lib Dem chief executive did not want to damage the party before the elections.
Former Liberal Democrat chief executive Lord Rennard has issued a written apology to four party activists who accused him of harassing them.
The peer said "he may well have encroached upon personal space" and added he would like to "apologise sincerely for any such intrusion," which he said "would have been inadvertent".
Lord Rennard wrote that he was issuing the apology after receiving the report by Alistair Webster QC, who conducted an independent investigation into the allegations and the party's handling of them.
Mr Webster found no evidence to act against Lord Rennard but recommended he consider apologising.
A statement issued by his lawyer said: "Lord Rennard wishes to achieve closure of the contentious issues that have been in the public domain for the last 14 months by expressing his apologies to Susan Gaszczak, Alison Goldsworthy, Bridget Harris and Alison Smith."
The Democratic presidential candidate may also have shown his cards on his choice of running mate.
The US president also shared a post on Twitter accusing Dr Anthony Fauci of misleading the public over hydroxychloroquine.
Fears over an impending second wave of coronavirus dominates Wednesday’s front pages.