Liberal Democrats accused of discrimination against pro-life candidate

The Liberal Democrats have been accused of discrimination following the deselection of a former BBC journalist.

David Campanale is suing the party over claims he was not allowed to stand as a prospective MP for the constituency of Sutton and Cheam because of his Christian faith.

Leaked documents obtained by the Telegraph are reported to reveal that the party is defending its decision to de-select Mr Campanale, who was once involved with the Christian People’s Alliance (CPA), by claiming his “expressed religious beliefs against abortion, gay marriage and legal sex change conflicted with the fundamental values set out” in the party’s governing document.

The Lib Dems are also reported to have claimed that they had a right to deselect Mr Campanale because holding “such beliefs could, through their incompatibility with the Liberal Democrats’ policy positions on those matters, undermine the party’s ability to gain the confidence of the electorate in the constituency of Sutton and Cheam”.

According to the Telegraph, the Lib Dems’ legal defence admitted that Luke Taylor, Mr Campanale’s replacement, told the former journalist that “the party of past prominent Liberal Democrats with Christian beliefs, such as Shirley Williams and Charles Kennedy, was ‘over’”.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has intervened in the row, suggesting it could set a dangerous precedent and make it “impossible” for some religious people to join political parties. Mr Williams added: “If it is indeed impossible even to hold dissenting views, this ought to make it impossible for Orthodox Jews and most Muslims as well as Catholic and other Christians to represent the party. Is this really what the Lib Dems are saying?”

The party has said that the decision to oust Mr Campanale was an “exercise in political judgement about what was best for the local party”, adding: “This is a case about a candidate who was dishonest and behaved badly towards local volunteers and we will not be gaslighted by him.

“The Liberal Democrat leader and a large number of our MPs are practising Christians, including many who were elected for the first time in July, and we refute this cherry picking from a 60-page legal document.”