Lord Rennard has been suspended from the Liberal Democrats as the party launched a new investigation into sexual harassment allegations.
The party said it had received advice that a 2023 probe into accusations made by four women was “flawed in several respects”.
Lib Dem leader, Sir Ed Davey, believes he should not be a member of the House of Lords.
Lord Rennard, a former chief executive of the party, pointed to a number of investigations, by police and lawyers, which had not resulted in any findings of wrongdoing.
Three of the women in the original claim said the latest move by the Liberal Democrats was “the first signs of change”.
‘We did not expect a fair investigation to take so long’
The joint statement by Alison Smith, Bridget Harris and Alison Goldsworthy said: “We decided to speak out in 2013 so that future generations of women could participate in politics safely.
“We did not expect a fair investigation to take so long and hope that the next steps will finally put the matter to rest.”
A spokeswoman for the Lib Dems said: “Rennard has had the Liberal Democrat whip in the House of Lords and his party membership suspended, and the party is conducting a new investigation into these allegations.
“The party has now received legal advice that the 2013 investigation into allegations against Rennard was flawed in several respects.
“Ed Davey has made clear he believes Rennard should not be a member of the House of Lords and that it should be made easier for peers to be expelled from the Lords for serious misconduct.”
A review carried out in 2013, by senior lawyer Alistair Webster, concluded there was a less than 50% chance of the case against Lord Rennard being proved beyond reasonable doubt.
But in a statement summarising his findings, Mr Webster added there was “broadly credible” evidence of “behaviour which violated the personal space and autonomy of the complainants”.
What has the peer said?
Responding to the latest suspension, Lord Rennard said: “All allegations made against me were investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service in 2013 in what was acknowledged by one of the complainants to be a ‘thorough and professional investigation’.
“After interviewing all concerned and considering any evidence they decided not to send a file to the Crown Prosecution Service and took no further action.
“A thorough investigation of all allegations was then undertaken by an independent lawyer, Alistair Webster KC, following very extensive appeals for any complaints concerning me and any evidence.
“His report submitted to the party in December 2013 concluded that there was insufficient evidence to hold a disciplinary hearing.”
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Lord Rennard added: “The report he submitted did not include the word ‘credible’. His report was accepted by the relevant party body in January 2014.
“A further investigation was conducted by another independent lawyer as to whether there were any grounds at all for any form of disciplinary action against me and it concluded that there were not.
“This conclusion was accepted by the party in August 2014 when all disciplinary action against me ended.”
