Nick Clegg has insisted he will not back down on his demands for Lord Rennard to apologise to women who made allegations about his behaviour. The party's former chief executive has launched legal action to block a second internal inquiry.
The former Liberal leader Lord Steel has called on the party to lift the threat of expulsion hanging over Lord Rennard.
He said the party had become obsessed with the allegations against its former chief executive, which was "very, very damaging".
He also appealed to Lord Rennard to drop his threat of legal action over a fresh inquiry into claims he'd brought the party into disrepute.
Former Liberal leader Lord Steel has told ITV News the party is in an "awful mess" over the Rennard row and it needs "to get a grip" of it.
Lord Rennard has threatened to take legal action after being suspended for refusing to apologise over sexual harassment allegations.