Lord Rennard sex scandal: Why has Lib Dem women's minister Jo Swinson disappeared? The following year Lord Rennard resigned as chief executive, and we now know, because Mr Clegg admitted it to 'Cathy from Dulwich', that concerns about his behaviour were "in the background" at the time. But what was Ms Swinson's role in all of this? Did her findings prompt Mr Alexander to go and confront Lord Rennard, and was she happy that the party until last week suggested the peer quit 'on health grounds' alone - an official version of events which the women we talked to say leaves the Lib Dems exposed to allegations of a cover-up? Ms Smith and the other women who spoke to us about a man some say was more powerful than the party leader, accuse the Lib Dems of failing them by failing to deal with their complaints decisively. Yet Ms Swinson, now in a position of some power as women's minister, has had nothing to say. I first contacted the minister on all of this over a month ago. I've had texts in response, referring me to the press office. I've bid for an interview with her via the very same press office, but to no avail. Now of course both she and Mr Clegg say they won't be commenting while the party carries out its own investigations. That's convenient for the Lib Dems but frustrating for the women concerned, as they're subjected to a drip drip of commentary from senior figures like Baroness Shirley Williams and Lord Dick Newby, who, respectively, have described the story as "hopelessly exaggerated" and "a mild kind of sexual harassment that [is] pretty common." Throughout the investigation, many of the women I interviewed were supportive of Ms Swinson, describing her as "a defender of women." But as more and more has been revealed about how the party handled the allegations for a decade, they're not so sure. She's been given pride of place at the Lib Dem spring conference, which starts on Friday, also International Women's Day. The women's minister will, according to the conference programme, rally the faithful that evening, "to celebrate the achievements of women and highlight the continuing need for action to achieve meaningful gender equality in our soceity and across the world." When it comes to action, perhaps the Lib Dems need to start rather closer to home.