The Liberal Democrats are facing a call for an independent investigation into the deselection of one of their candidates before the last election.

The party has admitted it unlawfully discriminated against former BBC journalist David Campanale on the basis of his religious beliefs when he was stopped from standing in the Sutton and Cheam constituency in 2024.

A civil court in London will this week begin the process of deciding what damages and costs Campanale is due.

A party group, the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum, has called for an inquiry into the deselection.

A party spokesperson declined to comment on an ongoing case but said the party was "home to people of all faiths and none".

Campanale was selected as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the London seat at the end of 2021, before being deselected in the run-up to the general election in 2024 in favour of Luke Taylor, who went on to win the constituency for the party.

Among the claims made to the Central London County Court, Campanale said he was "mocked and abused" by party members in relation to his Christian beliefs, which are protected under the Equality Act.

He also claimed he was told not to campaign in certain wards where activists did not want him because they did not agree with his views on "matters of conscience".

The party has accepted his claim in full.

John Pugh, a former MP and spokesperson for the forum, said: "Launching an investigation would send a message that Liberal Democrats are serious about discrimination."

Campanale's case has also drawn support from the party's former leader Tim Farron MP.

In a statement he said that while he had always found the Liberal Democrats to be a "welcoming home" for all faiths, it was clear in this case that the party "did not get this right."

"It is right that the party now takes steps so that this can never be allowed to happen again - to anyone of any protected characteristic including Christians. And I will be pushing them to do just that."

Separately the group Liberal Voice for Women, which says it campaigns "to ensure that women's sex-based rights, representation, and voices are fully respected within the party", has threatened it could raise concerns about discrimination within the Liberal Democrats' ranks with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The group's chair Zoe Hollowood wrote to the party's chief executive Mike Dixon this week arguing that complaints raised by its members were being dismissed while complaints about them are "routinely" progressed.

Under the Equality Act, religion or belief, including holding gender critical views, can be protected from discrimination.

The Act applies to Great Britain. Northern Ireland has separate equality legislation.

If a review of the party's complaints system by its Federal Audit and Scrutiny Committee is not completed by September, the letter says, it should be handed to an independent external reviewer and completed by the end of the year.

It is understood the party's chief executive has responded to say he will prioritise support for completing the review.

Last year the party was ordered to pay £14,000 to Natalie Bird, a former parliamentary candidate who says she was driven out of the party and barred from standing as an MP over her gender-critical views.

And in 2024 an anonymous parliamentary researcher crowd-funded more than £11,000 to bring an employment tribunal case against an unnamed Liberal Democrat MP arguing she had been dismissed after voicing her belief that "sex is real, immutable and important".

It is understood the case has since been settled out of court.

A party spokesperson said: "The Liberal Democrats are home to people of all faiths and none, including many Christians.

"Three Liberal Democrat MPs in neighbouring seats to Sutton and Cheam are practising Christians including party leader Ed Davey."