The Liberal Democrats defended their actions today after revelations in The Times that Sir Menzies Campbell and other senior party figures spent years concealing the alcoholism of Charles Kennedy, the party's former leader.

A new book, Charles Kennedy: A Tragic Flaw, by Greg Hurst, a political correspondent for The Times, reveals that Mr Kennedy, who was finally forced to resign because of his drinking, already had a drink problem when he became the party leader in 1999.

Two years later, senior party figures pressed Mr Kennedy through intermediaries to seek professional advice abroad to avoid being recognised.

The cover-up began in earnest in 2003, according to the book, when Mr Kennedy planned the biggest gamble of his political career by going public with his alcoholism at a press conference in Westminster, with Sir Menzies agreeing to sit supportively by his side.

At the last moment Mr Kennedy pulled out, and his inner circle continued to keep his problem under wraps.

Matthew Taylor, who was party chairman at the time of the planned 2003 press conference, said today that he was not aware of the discussions at the time.

"That was kept very close to his immediate staff and to Ming Campbell as deputy leader," he said. "At that point, this was a man who was admitting that he had a problem and taking it on privately.

"Did we force him to go public? I can quite see why he found that difficult to do and I can also understand why those around him felt that, given that he was tackling it, that that wasn’t necessary."

Mr Taylor added that the extent of Mr Kennedy's drinking problems had not been clear at the time.

"Of course, with hindsight, one can see it was a serious problem for a long period, but it wasn’t evident in the same way at the time," he said. "But what we sought to do - as I think anybody who’s ever dealt with anyone with an alcohol problem does - is first of all help them to recognise it, to get treatment.

"And once it became evident that wasn’t consistently successful, the majority came to the conclusion that he had to go as leader."

The book details the careful planning for the 2003 press conference.

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