The Liberal Democrats' independent panel has concluded it cannot reopen an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against peer Chris Rennard, citing a lack of new evidence.
Party leader Ed Davey said he was "disappointed and upset" by the decision. Davey had suspended Rennard from the party after the investigation was reopened earlier this year following claims that a 2013 inquiry was flawed.
Four women made the original allegations against Rennard, a former chief executive and life peer awarded his peerage in 1999. The claimants are former deputy party chair Alison Goldsworthy, academic Alison Smith, Bridget Harris, a former adviser to Nick Clegg, and former councillor Susan Gaszczak.
A 2013 review by senior lawyer Alistair Webster KC concluded there was less than a 50% chance the case could be proved beyond reasonable doubt, though Webster said there was "broadly credible" evidence of behavior that violated the claimants' personal space.
The party had asked three independent adjudicators who are party members to reassess Rennard's conduct after receiving legal advice that the original investigation had been "flawed in several respects". But after taking legal advice, the panel determined the case could not be reopened without new evidence.
Davey said in a statement that the women "were let down by a flawed investigation 13 years ago" but added he has "complete confidence that the current complaints system would handle a new complaint of this nature in a wholly different and much more reliable way".
Rennard said all allegations had been "thoroughly and professionally investigated and dismissed by both police and by independent inquiries over 17 months in 2013-14". He has apologised if he "inadvertently encroached" on anyone's "personal space". Davey has previously said he does not believe Rennard should be a party member or remain in the House of Lords, but he lacks the power to remove him.