Senior Lib Dem MPs are reported to be unhappy over Charles Kennedy's handling of Paul Marsden's defection from Labour.

Some are concerned that the Shrewsbury MP's move and the defection of some former Tory MEPs reflects badly on the Liberal Democrats, and shows Kennedy's "control freak tendencies". "Charlie has his own inner circle and does not seem to talk much to us. No-one is quite sure what his strategy is, but we're not allowed to have a good old fashioned row about it," a "leading MP" told the Times.