UK's beleagured Lib Dems leader to make statement

Britain's under-fire Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy is to make a “personal statement” tonight, a party spokesman said.

Mr Kennedy will make his statement at 5.45pm at the party’s headquarters in Cowley Street in Westminster.

No details of what he would be saying were immediately available.

The party refused to comment on a BBC report that 11 frontbenchers had called on him to resign.

The BBC reported that he would not be resigning and that the statement was intended to refute allegations which were about to appear in the media about his drinking.

Mr Kennedy has come under growing pressure to call a vote of confidence amid intense criticism of his leadership.

Earlier today, he offered the prospect of a ballot of the party’s 70,000 members following the round of council elections in May.

Any attempt to force a poll before that would be “a real distraction” and would damage the Lib Dems' chances in May, said Mr Kennedy, who made clear that he would not stand aside if a challenger tried to force a vote.

“If we’re going to have an election, by all means let’s look at that issue after the May local elections,” he told GMTV this morning.

“If there’s a genuine view in the party that they want a leadership election, the correct time to address that issue is once you get the important elections in May out of the way.

“If a leadership election is triggered (before) then, I will be a candidate because I’ve got the overwhelming support of the party membership behind me and I’ve got the support of my parliamentary colleagues.”