Iraq will not overshadow the Liberal Democrats' party conference, Charles Kennedy has said.

Ahead of the recall of parliament, the Lib Dem leader remained sanguine about today's interruption.

"I am not worried," he told ePolitix.com on Monday night. "We do have something distinct to say as a party and I think it has chimed with a very broad sweep of public opinion."

Kennedy, who led the calls for an emergency recall, believes the conference and the recall will raise the party's profile.

"The coincidence of the parliamentary recall and our party conference gives us an opportunity to reinforce the fact that we are voicing the concerns of many people," he said.

The Lib Dem leader said he had no fears that the party's domestic agenda would be sidelined and added that his party had a long-standing interest in foreign affairs.

"The whole mindset of this party is emphatically internationalist. It always feels confident that - providing you're annunciating good, clear principles - it can be fully engaged on issues like this," Kennedy added.