It was the day the vegetarians bit back – and now they are demanding their pound of flesh.

A failed attempt to oust cafe owner John Redmond from his meat-free spot on the Malvern Hills is set to leave a trust part-funded by taxpayers with a bill for £120,000.

Now there are calls for an independent inquiry from Mr Redmond’s celebrity supporters, who include actors Martin Shaw and Sir Ian McKellen and photographer Mary McCartney, daughter of ex-Beatle Sir Paul.

Protesters want to know why the Malvern Hill Conservators, who manage the 3,000 acres of rolling hills, waged a lengthy battle to close tenant Mr Redmond’s St Ann’s Well Cafe, a move which would have killed off a dining service renowned for its vegan fruit cake and dandelion coffee.

The Conservators pressed on with moves to boot out Mr Redmond in the face of a global Facebook campaign to save the cafe and an online petition signed by almost 2,000 supporters.

The organisation’s board also went against the advice of its own lawyers who argued there were sound reasons why attempts to terminate Mr Redmond’s tenancy on the grounds of unsubstantiated contract breaches were doomed to failure.

The Conservators have launched their own internal inquiry into the affair but supporters of Mr Redmond, who opened the cafe in 1990, fear it will be a whitewash.

They have called for an outside body, such as the Charity Commission, to investigate what went wrong.

Martin Shaw, star of television’s Judge John Deed and cult classic The Professionals, has described the cafe as a vegetarian “lifeline”.

Praising its role, he said: “It’s absurd that things have got this far and gives rise to a strong suspicion that mendacious motives are working against the wishes of the majority.

“I’ve visited several times and always there are people there expressing pleasure and surprise at its existence.