Lord Rennard has been suspended from the Liberal Democrats as the party launched a new investigation into sexual harassment allegations.
The party said it had received advice that a 2023 probe into accusations made by four women was “flawed in several respects”.
Lib Dem leader, Sir Ed Davey, believes he should not be a member of the House of Lords.
Lord Rennard, a former chief executive of the party, pointed to a number of investigations, by police and lawyers, which had not resulted in any findings of wrongdoing.
Three of the women in the original claim said the latest move by the Liberal Democrats was “the first signs of change”.
‘We did not expect a fair investigation to take so long’
The joint statement by Alison Smith, Bridget Harris and Alison Goldsworthy said: “We decided to speak out in 2013 so that future generations of women could participate in politics safely.
“We did not expect a fair investigation to take so long and hope that the next steps will finally put the matter to rest.”
A spokeswoman for the Lib Dems said: “Rennard has had the Liberal Democrat whip in the House of Lords and his party membership suspended, and the party is conducting a new investigation into these allegations.
“The party has now received legal advice that the 2013 investigation into allegations against Rennard was flawed in several respects.
“Ed Davey has made clear he believes Rennard should not be a member of the House of Lords and that it should be made easier for peers to be expelled from the Lords for serious misconduct.”
A review carried out in 2013, by senior lawyer Alistair Webster, concluded there was a less than 50% chance of the case against Lord Rennard being proved beyond reasonable doubt.
But in a statement summarising his findings, Mr Webster added there was “broadly credible” evidence of “behaviour which violated the personal space and autonomy of the complainants”.
