Nick Clegg has insisted he has "nothing to hide" over the handling of allegations about sexual harassment by his party's former chief executive.
The Deputy Prime Minister is facing accusations of a cover-up after admitting he knew five years ago about the claims against Lord Rennard.
Several women have accused the peer of inappropriately touching and propositioning female party workers, which he strenuously denies.
Mr Clegg admitted on Sunday that his office had been aware of "indirect and non-specific concerns" about his conduct back in 2008 but insists he acted appropriately.
And on Monday, he again insisted: "I have got nothing to hide, the party has nothing to hide.
Mr Clegg said Danny Alexander put the concerns to Lord Rennard "We have now got to listen to the women who feel they weren't properly listened to and get to the truth and that is what we will do."
He added: "I totally understand people have got lots and lots of questions but I hope I have given a full, frank, honest account.
In his statement on Sunday, the leader had said: "I am angry and outraged at the suggestion that I would not have acted if these allegations had been put to me.
"Indeed, when indirect and non-specific concerns about Chris Rennard's conduct reached my office in 2008, we acted to deal with them.
"My chief of staff at the time, Danny Alexander, put these concerns to Chris Rennard and warned him that any such behaviour was wholly unacceptable.
"Chris Rennard categorically denied that he had behaved inappropriately and he continues to do so. He subsequently resigned as chief executive on health grounds."
Lib Dem President Tim Farron, who is conducting a review into how the party dealt with the allegations, has acknowledged it "screwed this up".
Lord Rennard strenuously denies the claims "We screwed this up as a party. There are individuals out there who we had a duty of care towards and we did not fulfil that duty of care," he said on Monday.
He had earlier told Sky News: "My guess is that the party has indeed let itself down in the past and not dealt with these complaints when they were put."
Mr Clegg's aides have said he only learned about the specific complaints made against Lord Rennard after a Channel 4 News report last week.
The women claim they reported Lord Rennard's alleged behaviour to senior party officials at the time, but no further action was taken.
The peer was a key party strategist and adviser to a succession of Liberal Democrat leaders before standing down due to ill health in 2009.
He said he was "deeply shocked" by the allegations, which he "strongly disputes" and regards as a "total distortion" of his character.
Lib Dem MP Vince Cable said: "It's obviously wrong if there are women there who have made complaints and felt they weren't dealt with properly, so we are now setting up a proper investigative process - we want an independent element to that - and we'll get to the bottom of it."
Asked on the BBC's Andrew Marr show whether he knew about the allegations before the Channel 4 show, he said: "Absolutely not."
Former Lib Dem head of press Mark Littlewood said: "Nick Clegg is definitely going to have to outline and spell out in exact detail what he knew and when and what actions he took."
Labour's shadow minister for equalities and women, Kate Green, said: "At issue is not just a series of serious allegations from a number of women, but how the Liberal Democrat Party responded to those allegations.
"Only with a fully independent investigation can the public have confidence that the truth will prevail and lessons learned for the future."
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