The Liberal Democrat chief executive and election strategist will step down this autumn, days after questions were raised over his House of Lords expense claims. Lord Rennard told party members that he would quit his role for “family and health reasons” after the retirement of his wife. He has diabetes and has been urged to lead a less pressured lifestyle.

The news comes days after the peer was criticised for claiming more than £40,000 for running a second home, despite owning an apartment less than two miles from Westminster.

The party strenuously denied that the revelations were linked to his departure, although his letter to party members admitted that he had brought the announcement forward. He apparently used the cash to pay for a holiday home in Eastbourne, East Sussex. But neighbours reportedly see him there only occasionally, and refer to him as the “holiday-home man”.

Lord Rennard said that at every stage he “confirmed the propriety of my claims with the House authorities”.

A spokeswoman for the party insisted there was no link between his expense claims and his departure. She also insisted that Nick Clegg, the party leader, had not asked him to step down early because of embarrassment over the claims. However, there was growing anger at lower levels.

The Liberal Democrat Voice website, which reflects the views of party members around the country, reported that more than 40 per cent thought that, if true, he should have the whip suspended or be sacked as chief executive. Some members of Mr Clegg's Shadow Cabinet also had concerns about the claims.

However, The Times understands that he has missed work on health grounds recently, and his statement referred to the need better to control his diabetes.

In a letter to members, Lord Rennard said that he had discussed the move with Mr Clegg “some time ago”. He said he would continue to play a role in elections but wanted to be able to do so without the administrative burdens of being chief executive and running the party’s day-to-day organisation.

He said he would continue to support the party in the forthcoming general election and backed Mr Clegg to become the most successful leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Clegg said last night: “He will be sorely missed as chief executive by the many people in the party for whom he has been a huge inspiration for years. Whilst I understand Chris’s reasons for moving on as chief executive, I am equally looking forward to drawing on his immense wisdom and insight into politics in the years ahead.”

Last night Ben Chapman became the first Labour MP to stand down in the expenses scandal.

The Daily Telegraph, which has obtained details of all MPs’ expense claims, reported that Mr Chapman had been given permission by the fees office to reclaim the interest payments on the full value of a mortgage despite paying off £295,000 of the loan. Mr Chapman benefited by £15,000 from the arrangement, the paper said.

The MP insisted that he had been acting on the advice of Commons officials and dismissed suggestions that his career was hanging in the balance.

Hazel Blears’s future in government looked vulnerable yesterday after Gordon Brown defended two other Cabinet ministers facing expenses allegations in sharp contrast with the way that he had called her behaviour “completely unacceptable.”

Mr Brown insisted that there was “no problem” with financial arrangements which meant that Geoff Hoon and James Purnell did not pay capital gains tax on sales.

Ms Blears has repaid more than £13,000 and apologised but the Prime Minister said the cases of Mr Hoon and Mr Purnell were different, as the taxman considered the properties involved to be their main residences.

Downing Street insisted that Mr Hoon, the Transport Secretary, and Mr Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, had stuck to the “letter of the law and the spirit of the rules”.

Meanwhile, it emerged last night that two more frontrunners for the post of Speaker were facing questions over their expense claims.

Sir Alan Beith, the Liberal Democrat MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed and the first MP to put his name forward for the Speaker’s chair, claimed £117,000 in second-home allowances between 2001 and 2008 while his wife, Baroness Maddock, claimed £60,000 from the House of Lords for “overnight” allowances at the same address, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The paper also alleged that John Bercow, a leading Conservative candidate for Speaker, “flipped” his second home from his constituency to London after buying a £540,00 flat in the capital and then claimed the maximum possible allowances for it.

It is also alleged that he profited from the sale of his homes in London and his Buckingham constituency after claiming £143,455 in second-home allowance between 2001 and 2008. Mr Bercow was yesterday unable to confirm whether he had paid capital gains tax on either sale.

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