Clegg admits Lib Dem handling of groping claims was 'not ideal' as he vows not to back down in battle with Lord Rennard Nick Clegg admits 'alarm bells did not go off' in the party Nick Clegg today admitted his handling of groping claims against Lord Rennard last year was "not ideal" as he vowed not to back down in calling for an apology from the Lib Dem peer. The Deputy Prime Minister also conceded that "alarm bells did not go off" within the party when the allegations were first made several years ago. Admission: Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said the party's handling of the crisis was 'not ideal' Mr Cleg's leadership has become engulfed by the row, with many activists accusing him of failing to act while peers in the House of Lords support Lord Rennard. Hosting his weekly radio-phone, the Lib Dem leader was bombarded with questions and criticism about the case. However Alistair Webster QC recommended Lord Rennard - who has strenuously denied wrongdoing - apologise, something he has refused to do, leading to his suspension on Monday. Miriam González Durántez has angrily hit back at claims that she put pressure on her husband Nick Clegg to take a tougher stance on sex pest allegations against Lord Rennard. In a highly unusual public statement, the lawyer and mother-of-three insisted she had nothing to do with the decision to suspend the peer from the party, describing a report suggesting so as "a complete fabrication." Ms González Durántez, who was attending a National Inspiring Women campaign event to get women to go into schools to talk about their careers, said: "This is in the Telegraph today but it is a complete fabrication. I don't even know the women. I think by now that you will know I'm the kind of woman who doesn't influence in the shadows. If I ever wanted to say something I would say that openly. My opinions about the political issues of the day, I keep them for myself. Earlier, the Deputy Prime Minister also insisted it was "just not on" to drag his family into the row and dismissed the claims as "garbage." "I've read so much garbage over the last several days about what I think, what my motives are, what I've done here, what I've done there, and now suddenly claims are being made about conversations which, if they took place, would take place probably in the privacy of the Clegg kitchen," Mr Clegg told LBC radio. It's total garbage, it is a complete work of fiction. Look, you can make up stuff about me, as indeed people do day in day out, have a go at me, but just don't drag Miriam into it.' In a 2,600-word statement Lord Rennard threatened to sue the party for kicking him out of the Lib Dem 'family'. But Mr Clegg insisted he would not drop his demand for an apology. He told LBC 97.3: "Let me really be open with you, I actually think the way that we handled it last year wasn't great, wasn't ideal. Much more seriously than that, looking much further back, it is quite clear that when the women were first caused this distress, many, many years ago...the Party did not react, the alarm bells did not go off, and there weren't procedures, and that's what I've apologised to them in person, and publically. Mr Clegg said he had to demand that Lord Rennard says sorry - even if only for causing "inadvertent" distress to women. He went on: "Just imagine if we had done anything else. Just imagine if Alistair Webster (QC) had recommended that an apology should be issued and I came out and said "Thank you very much, we will file away the report, and by the way, none of the recommendations need to be accepted or adhered to." There would have quite rightly been outrage. It is messy. It is difficult to confront the past and turn a page and introduce a new culture in any organisation, particularly a political party - quite rightly under remorseless scrutiny. But there is no way round my view that I want people in my party, the party I lead, to treat each other with respect, with civility, with dignity. Lib Dem tensions over the row have been ratcheting up, with ex-leader Lord Steel joining calls for the threat of expulsion to be lifted from Lord Rennard. Mr Webster's inquiry found the allegations against the peer could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt but said there was broadly credible evidence that women had been caused distress. The former election supremo has been suspended from the party pending a disciplinary hearing into whether his refusal to apologise is bringing it into disrepute. He continues to deny any wrongdoing and is considering seeking an injunction to halt the process. Lib Dem peers are due to meet later, with significant numbers thought to be sympathetic to Lord Rennard's position.