The Liberal Democrats have inadvertently revealed how many seats they plan to target in the forthcoming general election.

The Lib Dems want to gain 36 more seats - a figure which was revealed because the party conference in 2001 decided that 40 per cent of candidates in target seats must be women.

The party’s Gender Balance Task Force reported to the spring conference in Harrogate last weekend that women had been selected in 14 of the 36 target seats, a proportion of 39 per cent.

The most prominent Labour figure being targeted is home secretary Charles Clarke, according to the Times.

Tory MPs including party leader Michael Howard, and shadow cabinet members David Davis and Oliver Letwin are also on the list, with the Lib Dems claiming that Labour supporters can be encouraged to vote tactically to defeat them.