Disgraced ex-Tory Brian Coleman is remaining typically defiant after being found guilty of calling a father-of-two a “tw*t” at a packed council meeting.

The Totteridge representative, who was expelled from the Conservative party following a conviction for common assault earlier this year, was found to have sworn at psychiatric nurse Paul Merchant after the Friern Barnet resident asked a question at a cabinet meeting on April 4 last year.

Councillor Coleman failed to attend the disciplinary hearing that made the findings last Tuesday but said this week he was the victim of a “politically motivated campaign”.

The 52-year-old claimed he was being targeted because of his former seniority in the Conservative party.

Despite a change in the disciplinary procedure earlier this year, Mr Coleman’s actions were judged against the former members’ code in place at the time of the alleged breaches.

He said: “These hearings were wrong in law and wrong in fact – you can’t convict someone on a code of conduct that is no longer in force.

“The Tories are scared witless of what I might do because I know where the bodies are buried. I should do – I buried most of them.”

Councillor Coleman’s punishment amounts to the breach being read out in the chamber at the next full council meeting but the politician says he is seeking his right of appeal.

At the same disciplinary hearing last week, Mr Coleman was cleared of three other accusations that he breached the members’ code of conduct.

The former Barnet mayor was found not guilty of failing to treat others with respect when, at a full council meeting in September, he referred to the public gallery as the “sad, mad and a couple of hags”.

Age UK chairman Julia Hines and Helen Davies claimed the councillor had failed to treat them with respect by aiming the remarks at the public gallery.

Ms Hines also filed a separate complaint that Mr Coleman had been disrespectful during several email correspondence she had with him over plans for a new traffic light policy.

The Group Leaders’ Panel, which replaced standards committees earlier this year, found the former GLA member had been “discourteous” but had not breached the members’ code.

A fourth charge, which was not made public, was also dismissed.

Mr Coleman said: “It is silly – it goes on and on. These are allegations from 18 months ago and they are being raised now because of politically motivated nonsense.”