Disgraced councillor Brian Coleman will discover if he is to be permanently kicked out of the Conservative Party at a special meeting to decide his future tonight.

The former Mayor of Barnet will have the chance to argue his case for remaining a Tory party member at a special meeting of Chipping Barnet Conservative Association this evening from 8pm.

All 56 members of the association’s executive council have been invited to attend the hearing, described by association chairman Fiona Bulmer as “like a trial”.

The meeting at the association HQ, in High Street, Barnet, will be chaired by an independent individual and a final decision will be reached by vote.

Cllr Coleman refused to comment on the meeting.

Since being convicted of assaulting cafe owner and mother-of-two Helen Michael at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court last month, Cllr Coleman, 51, has faced calls for his permanent expulsion from the Conservative Party.

He is currently suspended from the party and acting as an independent councillor.

If the association decides to expel Cllr Coleman, the expulsion would apply to all Tory associations of which he is a member and the party as a whole, according to Ms Bulmer.

Cllr Coleman was fined after pleading guilty to assault last month.

A Barnet councillor is not automatically disqualified from their position unless they receive a prison sentence of three months or more.