British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg admitted today that 'very serious mistakes' were made over a sex scandal which has rocked his Liberal Democrat party ahead of a crucial by-election. Clegg repeated his insistence that he was unaware of allegations of sexual harassment by several female


party workers against former Lib Dem chief executive Lord Chris Rennard until they emerged last week. But he conceded that rumours about the behaviour of Rennard -- who strongly denies groping the women -- had been 'in the background' of the peer's resignation due to ill-health in 2009.
'There were some very serious mistakes and the women were not listened to and were let down,' Clegg said during his weekly phone-in on a London radio station. He said that 'clearly something went seriously wrong in the organisation' as complaints dating back several years were not acted upon, but insisted: 'My party has nothing to hide, I have nothing to hide.' The Lib Dems, the junior coalition partners in the government, have launched two internal inquiries into the allegations, which are also the subject of a police investigation, amid a media storm which has left the party struggling to respond.


Clegg's leadership has come under strain, amid claim and counterclaim about what he knew about the allegations against Rennard and when. The affair could not come at a worse time as the Lib Dems b.