Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Nick Clegg: Lord Rennard allegations were in the background when he stepped down

Nick Clegg’s head is spinning, apparently, now that quite so many media outlets are involved in pursuing the allegations about Lord Rennard. That’s what he told ‘self-appointed detective’ Cathy Newman when she managed to get through to his LBC phone-in this morning. Perhaps it was this dizzy sensation of his party being embroiled in a scandal that led the Lib Dem leader to change his tune rather on the issue of why Rennard left. He said:

‘Of course these things were in the background but his health was the immediate reason why he stepped down.’

Later, he added:

‘Of course the issues of his inappropriate behaviour were in the background, of course they were.’

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