Rennard claims raised 'directly with Clegg' in 2008
Lucy Manning
Former UK Editor
Nick Clegg talks in his statement about his “office” only receiving concerns about Lord Rennard indirectly and anonymously. He says it twice.
He says “I am angry and outraged at the suggestion that I would not have acted if these allegations were put to me.”
He doesn’t say he received any information about Lord Rennard, just “my office”.
Mr Clegg was forced to make a statement after the revelations from Channel 4 News about allegations concerning Lord Rennard.
Now ITV News has been told by someone who was a senior member of the committees running the Liberal Democrats that they did raise rumours about Lord Rennard’s behaviour directly with Nick Clegg in 2008.
At an event, this person who wants to stay anonymous, told Nick Clegg the following:
Now they say they didn’t name names of those making the allegations to Nick Clegg but I asked this Lib Dem about how much was known of Lord Rennard’s behaviour in 2008.
Q: How high up do you think the knowledge of it went?
A: Well it certainly went as far as the leader.
Q: How do you know?
A: Because I had a conversation with him.
Q: And he wasn’t in any way surprised?
A: No.
So even after this statement - some serious questions for Nick Clegg.
While he might not have known about the specific content of the allegations, the suggestion is he knew, not just "his office", about allegations surrounding Lord Rennard in September 2008, eight months before Lord Rennard stepped down for health reasons.