What is wrong with Lib-Dem hierarchy? Why are so many of them filled with such callousness towards women? Why has so little attention been paid to the insensitive and offensive remarks by Senior Lib-Dems in their attempted defence of Lord Renard?
In today's Telegraph it is reported that Jasper Gerard, a friend and biographer of Mr Clegg, dismissed the seriousness of Lord Renard's alleged misdemeanour by saying “It was only touching a woman’s knee, it’s hardly Jimmy Savile.” Another senior leader, Lord Greaves, a Lib Dem peer, suggested that “people just calm down a bit” adding that “fairly mild sexual advances” were “hardly an offence”.
Did you hear that? Fairly mild sexual advances were hardly an offence.
Leaving aside the question of who decides if a sexual advance is fairly mild or not what about the issue of whether Lord Renard's alleged impropriety is right or wrong? Trying to mask the iniquitousness of an action by comparing it to someone worse (Jimmy Saville) or by describing the issue as "hardly an offence" does not get away from the fact that it is wrong - plain and simple. Imagine a church minister or school teacher or taxi driver saying in defence of alleged sexual misconduct "I was only touching her knee. It has hardly Jimmy Saville stuff" OR "I just made a fairly mild sexual advance - it's hardly an offence." Would that mean it was ok? Would you be at ease to leave your daughter, wife, mother in their company? What perverse logic to try trivialise a serious offence and gross violation (against the women concerned and God) and that from the party that claims to speak up for the weak and marginalised! As someone once said: O ye hypocrites, that set up marvellous standards in thy manifesto, yet you yourselves are not willing to keep them. Woe to you - for you travel across Westminster, to form a Coalition and once in Whitehall, have made yourselves twice as much the children of hell - Woe!
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