Lib Dem peer accused of sexual harassment to headline party fundraiser

Lord Rennard invited to speak at event next month

Lord Rennard's appointment to the Federal Executive Committee was vehemently opposed (Getty Images)

A Liberal Democrat peer accused of sexual harassment has been invited to headline a fundraiser for party members.

A guide to the event describes Lord Rennard as the man responsible for a series of “spectacular by-election victories that rescued his party's fortunes”.

It does not mention that the peer has been a controversial member of the party since the allegations, by four women, surfaced in 2013.

The invitation will fuel fears that some in the Lib Dems want to rehabilitate Lord Rennard because they fear for the party’s future without his expertise on how to win elections.

Former Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson had called on Lord Rennard to resign from the party.

But she had no power to expel him and he remains a Lib Dem peer.

An inquiry by Alistair Webster, QC, in 2014 found that there was "broadly credible" evidence that Lord Rennard had violated the "personal space and autonomy" of several of the party’s female activists.

He added that the high burden of proof required by Lib Dem party rules meant that he could take no disciplinary action against the peer, however, a move that prompted an angry response from members.

There was further outrage last summer when it emerged that he had campaigned in a key by-election in Brecon and Radnorshire.

Now Worcester Lib Dems have advertised a virtual talk and Q&A with Lord Rennard on Wednesday 1 July. Members who want to take part are asked to pay £10 for a ticket on the website eventbrite.

One of the women who accused Lord Rennard, Bridget Harris, a former senior aide to ex-Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, condemned what she said was a move by some in the party to carry on “as if nothing ever happened”.

She told the Independent: "If ever there was an supreme example of a political elite getting away with it, it is Lord Rennard's continual presence in the Liberal Democrats.

“There is no excuse for the current acting leader, Ed Davey, to ignore what is going on - the slow gaslighting of local parties to 'move on' and accept Lord Rennard back into the fold as if nothing ever happened. It's a stain on the reputation of the party and why I left it.”

Lord Rennard has always denied the allegations against him.

The Metropolitan Police decided that there was insufficient evidence to pursue any of the allegations against the peer.