In one of a number of appeals against the deselection seen by The Telegraph, Nasser Butt, the founder and chairman of Lib Dem Muslim Forum, revealed that he was contacted by a party activist in early 2022 who informed him there was “considerable opposition from Party’s Youth groups in London Region lead by some LGBT youth”.
He was told that Mr Campanale’s “past activities and beliefs with the CPA was questionable and made him unsuitable”.
Mr Butt refused to join the campaign, noting: “I don’t believe that a person’s faith should be a deciding point to join Liberal Democrats or that a party member with faith or no faith should be targeted in a discriminatory way.”
“Attempts were made to make David resign without going public or to membership,” he told party leaders. “David proved his strength by standing up to such bullying tactic.”
After Mr Campanale refused to stand down, an extraordinary general meeting was called in November of that year, which those present have described as “an extraordinary verbal attack” which was “personal and vitriolic”.
Juliet Chaplin of Sutton Borough Liberal Democrats’ Cheam branch, an executive member and one of the signatories to the complaint to the EHRC, said that it became “clear that objections to David’s position… are based entirely on his Christian faith”.
Despite him winning the selection in a poll of all members in the constituency, only the 64 members who attended the EGM in person and 29 who attended via Zoom were allowed to vote on his deselection, which was confirmed.
Mr Butt, who attended online but did not vote as he could not hear properly, warned in his appeal that the meeting broke a number of party rules and there was “no clear evidence or reasons” for the vote of no confidence.
‘No evidence of concerns about Campanale’s performance’
His comments were echoed by Sir Simon, who said that he had seen no evidence of concerns about Mr Campanale’s performance, which party rules state must be the reason to begin the deselection process.
Lord Marks, acting for Mr Campanale at his appeal, added that the local party failed to follow processes stipulating that they must try to work with the candidate and that the executive which voted against him was not properly elected.
The KC warned that the treatment of Mr Campanale was in breach of the principles of the party, which state that they “reject all prejudice and discrimination based upon race… religion or belief”.
Mr Campanale was told in March that an appeal against his deselection had been rejected.
He is now appealing to the panel that rules on internal disputes in the party.
As a result of the party shortlisting new candidates for the seat ahead of Tuesday’s hustings, the LDCF, of which Mr Campanale is one of over 400 members, wrote to Mark Pack, federal president, warning that they are “deeply disturbed by this saga”.
They called on the party to pause the selection of a new candidate until the conclusion of the appeal, saying that unless they do so it could “have a detrimental effect on all candidates across the country”.
The LDCF suggests that the party would take a “zero tolerance” approach if another candidate was opposed based on a protected characteristic, but says Mr Campanale has been “serially ignored”.
“Either we liberals believe in equality and freedom of conscience and practise those beliefs or else we are not liberals,” the group wrote as they called for an independent inquiry into the deselection.
‘Lib Dems home to people of all faiths and none’
A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats said: “This decision is currently undergoing an appeal so it would not be appropriate to comment at this stage.
“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, and the party’s candidate selection process is overseen by the Reverend Margaret Jane Joachim.”
A spokesman for the equalities watchdog said: “The EHRC receives complaints each week about allegations of unlawful activity contrary to the Equality Act 2010. We consider each complaint carefully and take action where appropriate.”
The EHRC previously found that the Labour Party had broken equality law in its handling of anti-Semitism under Jeremy Corbyn, identifying “serious failings” in the leadership.
In 2019 the watchdog ruled that the party had breached the Equality Act 2010 in relation to “political interference” in complaints of anti-Semitism, a “failure to provide adequate training” to those handling such complaints, and “harassment”.
The report demanded that the party draft an action plan on how it would implement the array of recommendations from the EHRC, which would become legally enforceable by the courts if not fulfilled.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
