Rennard went beyond 'a hand on the knee' says accuser

Lib Dem activist to speak to police but Shirley Williams says peer was no Jimmy Savile

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Alison Smith

LORD RENNARD faces "very, very serious" allegations of sexual impropriety beyond just a "hand on the knee", says the woman leading complaints against him as she prepares to meet police about the Liberal Democrat peer's behaviour. Speaking to the BBC, former Lib Dem worker Alison Smith (above) said she went public with the claims last week amid concern Rennard, who stepped down as party chief executive four years ago, was making a "comeback".

Now a politics lecturer at Oxford University, Smith said even "very senior" Lib Dem MPs were scared of Rennard because of his power to "make or break their careers". She claimed while there were never explicit "casting couch" scenarios for women looking to advance in the party, Rennard had what was known as "favoured daughters". She said: "It was just a feeling that we had that if you would do what he wanted then you could get a lot out of it and if you didn't then there could be consequences."

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