LIBERAL Democrat MP Annette Brooke, pictured, said she was not calling on her party leader Nick Clegg to resign or signing the e-petition launched by grassroots members urging him to go.

The Mid Dorset and North Poole MP, who is chairman of the Lib Dem parliamentary party, said there was a scheduled meeting coming up and, while she was not putting an item on the agenda, she could not rule out someone raising the issue.

“Tearing ourselves apart is absolutely ridiculous,” she said. “What we need to do is to look at everything and just think about the message and how we deliver it.”

Dire local and Euro election results have resulted in 300 party activists calling for Nick Clegg to be replaced as party leader and former treasury spokesman Lord Oakeshott has quit the party with a warning that it is “heading for disaster”.

Mrs Brooke, who is not standing for re-election next year, said: “My position is always move forward and don’t unnecessarily tear yourself apart.”

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