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.
A senior Lib Dem source has said that "obviously we disagree" with Lord Steel and that reinstating Lord Rennard "is not going to sort it out".
The former Liberal leader had told ITV News the party should lift the suspension on the former chief executive, who is accused of bringing the party into disrepute by refusing to apologise to women who complained about him.
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.