SIR Vince Cable has been accused of “scheming” to do electoral deals with Labour after he was secretly recorded suggesting Liberal Democrat supporters should consider backing Labour candidates in certain seats to help defeat the Tories.

The former Lib Dem Business Secretary told a meeting of party members they should "think and act in a constructive way" in June's vote, telling them how his and one Labour candidate's views were "almost identical".

In the recording, obtained by Sky News and LBC radio, Sir Vince, who is seeking to retake his old seat of Twickenham, said he had always valued the good relationships he had had with people in other parties.

Mentioning Rupa Huq, Labour’s candidate in Ealing, the former Cabinet minister noted how “it was very clear on almost every issue, our views were almost identical and so I would find it very difficult to vote against somebody like that, and I hope that our people around the country are discriminating and think and act in a constructive way".

Sir Vince later told LBC his party had a "clear policy" not to go into government with Jeremy Corbyn.

But he backed local deals in so-called progressive alliances on an "ad hoc basis", adding: "If the local parties decide that's what they want to do, they should do it."

Tim Farron, campaigning in Scotland, told The Herald he was “a pluralist” and during the EU referendum enjoyed campaigning with fellow Remainers from other parties like Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader.

But he stressed: “In this election I have been very clear that there will be no pacts, no deals and no coalition after the election. That’s not about being unnecessarily tribal, it’s about saying to the British people there needs to be a very clear message…

“If you vote Liberal Democrat, it’s not a proxy for anything else, it’s a vote for the one party wanting to invest in health and social care, the one party offering the British people the vote on the final say on the deal and the one party battling for Britain to remain in the single market.”

Asked why Sir Vince had, therefore, suggested there might be deals with other parties, Mr Farron said: “If you are a Nationalist, you know who you are voting for, if you’re a Unionist, I want you to vote Lib Dem right across Scotland, not least because we are the only party in favour of both Unions.

“But likewise I understand Unionists will make choices about how they cast their vote…Politicians are too quick telling people who they must or must not vote for. We don’t own our votes; people make their own choices. From my perspective it’s very clear I present a Liberal Democrat party offer, which is about being the clear alternative to the Conservatives.”

But the Tories accused the Lib Dems of hypocrisy, accusing them of saying things publicly that were "completely at odds with what they say and do in private".

Damian Green, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said: "The threat of Jeremy Corbyn making it to Downing Street propped up by a coalition of chaos is very real and these recordings show the Lib Dems are scheming to make it happen.”

Meantime, the Lib Dems announced the return of the “big beasts” to their frontline team with Sir Vince becoming their Treasury spokesman while Sir Ed Davey, the former Energy Secretary, and Jo Swinson, the former Business Minister, become campaign spokespeople.