His notorious campaign against women being ordained dates back 25 years when in 1997 he tried to sue the dean and chapter of St Paul's Cathedral for appointing a female minor canon.

In 2015 the priest publicly interrupted the ordination of Libby Lane - England's first female bishop - at York Minster to object to it, shouting that it was 'not in the bible' and that it was an 'absolute impediment'.

Now, Rev Williamson has lost his second employment tribunal after he was forced to retire from his post as priest of St George's Church, Hanworth, London.

Rev Williamson, 72, first lost an age discrimination case in 2019 after he was retired at 70. All priests retire at 70 under Church of England rules unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The consecration of the first woman bishop in the history of the Church of England was disrupted by protesting vicar Rev Paul Williamson in January 2015.

The Reverend Libby Lane became the Bishop of Stockport in a service conducted by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu at York Minster.

The historic event was briefly interrupted by the appearance of ultra-conservative priest Rev Paul Williamson shouting 'Not in the Bible' as she was presented to the congregation.

A Church of England spokesman described him as a 'serial protester' who had been expected to attend.

He said: 'He's got the right to protest but the contrast was between a lone voice protesting and a sea of voices affirming.'

Mrs Lane, an Oxford-educated mother of two, was appointed as a bishop last month, in a historic move which ends five centuries of all-male leadership in the church.

That announcement came just weeks after the General Synod formally adopted legislation allowing women to take the role, following years of furious debate on the issue.

Despite losing the case, he has now tried to bring the same claims in addition to allegations of religious discrimination.

'[Rev Williamson] believed that he was being discriminated against on grounds of his religious beliefs regarding the ordination of women into the clergy', a tribunal report said.

The Watford employment tribunal was told: '[Rev Williamson] considers that the ordination of women into the clergy is not consistent with biblical doctrine.

'Historically, he has pursued a number of legal challenges as a consequence of this belief.'

The tribunal heard Rev Williamson requested to continue working past his 70th birthday in November 2018, however the Bishop of London decided only to extend his service until April 2019.

In early 2019 the tribunal heard Rev Williamson was 'distressed' by thoughts concerning his impending retirement and sought mental health support from his GP.

He was diagnosed as suffering from stress and was prescribed antidepressants - but declined counselling - and concerns were raised about him expressing 'suicidal thoughts'.

Rev Williamson lost his latest case because his religious discrimination claims were lodged 10 months too late - with a panel questioning why he didn't raise them as part of his first tribunal.

The tribunal panel said: 'The second claim, as reformulated, includes a new complaint of religious discrimination which did not appear in the first claim.

'It is clear that Rev Williamson was of the view, before the first claim was filed, that the refusal to extend his service was motivated by his religious beliefs regarding the ordination of women.

'Despite this, he and his representatives apparently decided not to include these matters in the first claim. There is no reason why these matters could not have been included when the first claim was filed.'

Rev Williamson was first ordained as a deacon in 1972 and as a priest the following year. He served as priest St George's in Hanworth since 1992.

Rev Williamson is notorious for his opposition to the ordination of women to the priesthood.

He hit headlines in 2015 when the Reverend Libby Lane became the Bishop of Stockport in a service conducted by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu.

The historic event was briefly interrupted by the appearance of Rev Paul Williamson, shouting 'Not in the Bible' as she was presented to the congregation at York Minster.

At the time, a Church of England spokesman described him as a 'serial protester' who had been expected to attend.

He said: 'He's got the right to protest but the contrast was between a lone voice protesting and a sea of voices affirming.'

Rev Williamson was declared a 'vexatious litigant' by the High Court the same year he tried to sue the dean and chapter of St Paul's Cathedral, as a result of his continued legal challenges.

He also protested against the legality of Prince Charles' wedding to Camilla in 2005.