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| Lib Dem sexual harassment row: Nick Clegg rejects claims his wife Miriam was behind his strong line on Lord Rennard | Lib Dem sexual harassment row: Nick Clegg rejects claims his wife Miriam was behind his strong line on Lord Rennard |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Nick Clegg has angrily denied "garbage" newspaper reports that his wife influenced his reaction to the Lord Rennard affair which still threatens to embroil his party. | Nick Clegg has angrily denied "garbage" newspaper reports that his wife influenced his reaction to the Lord Rennard affair which still threatens to embroil his party. |
| The Liberal Democrat leader said it was "just not on" to drag | |
| politicians' relatives into news stories, and said the stories had | |
| no basis in fact. | |
| The Rennard affair - centring around allegations that the | |
| Liberal Democrat peer sexually harassed several female party | |
| workers - has rumbled on for months. It came to a head earlier this | |
| week when Rennard, who denies all the claims, was suspended after | |
| refusing to bow to calls from Mr Clegg to apologise to the | |
| women. | |
| Lib Dems warn of 'bloodbath' as Lord Rennard considers legal action over sexual harassment allegations row | Lib Dems warn of 'bloodbath' as Lord Rennard considers legal action over sexual harassment allegations row |
| Speaking on LBC radio on Wednesday, Mr Clegg was asked about | |
| reports that it was the fury of his wife, Miriam, which led him to | |
| take the strong line. The Daily Telegraph had reported that Mrs Clegg was | |
| understood to have thought the party “let down” female activists by | |
| failing to take their concerns seriously. | |
| But Clegg said: "I've read so much garbage over the last several | |
| days about what I think, what my motives are, what I've done here, | |
| what I've done there, and now suddenly claims are being made about | |
| conversations which, if they took place, would take place probably | |
| in the privacy of the Clegg kitchen. | |
| A personal recollection of Lord Rennard: He was an anorak with a political purpose | A personal recollection of Lord Rennard: He was an anorak with a political purpose |
| "It's total garbage, it is a complete work of fiction." | "It's total garbage, it is a complete work of fiction." |
| He also strongly defended the principle that politicians' | |
| families should be left out of the news. | |
| "Look," he said, "you can make up stuff about me, as indeed | |
| people do day in day out, have a go at me, but just don't drag | |
| Miriam into it, don't drag politicians' families into it. That's | |
| just not on." |