The full extent of Charles Kennedy's drink problem, from shaking hands to missed public appearances, has been catalogued in the fullest account to date by his successor as Liberal Democrat leader.

The graphic recollections in Sir Menzies Campbell's serialised memoirs, entitled My Autobiography, come just two days before Mr Kennedy, MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, hopes to win the support of students at Glasgow University, where he is vying with three rivals to become the rector.

Undergraduates at Mr Kennedy's alma mater vote tomorrow and Wednesday with the successful candidate, who will serve a three-year tenure as rector, being named on April 10.

In his autobiography, Sir Menzies, MP for North-East Fife, explained how his father, George, was "a drinker", which led him to acquiring "a greater understanding of why people did it".

The ex-leader's serialised account of his colleague's battle with the bottle began with events in 2001 when the two men were due to meet Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian leader, in London.

Sir Menzies explained how Mr Kennedy "eventually" turned up, raised a soft drink can to his lips but "was shaking so much he had to use both hands to hold it steady".

After Sir Menzies became deputy leader in 2003, Anna Werrin, Mr Kennedy's gatekeeper, took him aside and briefed him "in detail on Charles's problem". The back bencher said: "Whenever necessary - and it was frequent by her account - they put up a shield for him."

He recalled how on two major political occasions - the announcement by the then Chancellor Gordon Brown on whether Britain would join the euro and on Budget Day in 2004 - Mr Kennedy failed to put in an appearance; on the former occasion because he was "not capable of it" and on the latter because he had "a stomach complaint".

One of the most dramatic moments came in 2003 when Sir Menzies was told Mr Kennedy was to give a press conference the following day to announce he would step down as party leader and seek medical treatment for his drink problem.

As the Fife MP travelled to London, he was paged halfway to say his colleague had changed his mind and was told, as a parliamentary recess was coming up, Mr Kennedy would privately seek help then. A meeting with colleagues was called in which the then leader insisted he would indeed see a doctor and assured them: "Everything will be fine."

In November 2005, after colleagues raised concerns over a "rambling" speech by their leader, Mr Kennedy confronted his critics amid the "growing clamour of complaint" and demanded a show of loyalty.

In January 2006 "the dam broke", with colleagues demanding action. The leader attempted to survive by again going on television to claim that his drink problem was "essentially resolved".

However, the game was up as more than one-third of the parliamentary party threatened to resign their portfolios.