The Birmingham city councillor and barrister found to have smeared a political opponent while giving evidence in court says he is looking forward to clearing his name if he has to face an unprofessional conduct hearing.

Ayoub Khan is expecting to be brought before a tribunal of the Bar Standards Board to answer an election court ruling that he wrongly accused Aston Labour city councillor Muhammed Afzal of witness intimidation.

Coun Afzal reported Coun Khan, a Liberal Democrat, to the Bar Standards Board after the court finished sitting in Birmingham last year.

At the end of the 24-day hearing, Elections Commissioner Timothy Straker QC found that Coun Khan behaved in a “scurrilous” manner when giving evidence and made up an “unsubstantiated” claim that Coun Afzal’s supporters were responsible for torching a Range Rover owned by a Lib Dem supporter.

Two high court judges last week rejected a claim by Coun Khan that he had not been given a chance to defend himself against the smear allegations and that Mr Straker’s judgment was unsafe.

Refusing an application for judicial review, Lord Justice Leverson said Coun Khan would have every opportunity to put his side of the story if he was ordered to appear at a Bar Standards Board tribunal which would decide whether he breached the barristers’ code of conduct.

Speaking yesterday, Coun Khan insisted he had been badly treated by the election court.

He said: “I haven’t done anything wrong. I have spoken the truth.

“I feel I wasn’t given an opportunity to defend myself as I would have if I had been called as a defendant.

“I am willing to go to any tribunal to present my case in a fair manner. I will call evidence and substantiate what I have said.

“I am more than happy to provide my version.”

Coun Khan, who is resisting Labour demands that he be sacked as a city council cabinet member and prospective Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Ladywood, said he would continue to fight “gangsterism-type” politics in inner-city areas.

He added: “All I have ever tried to do is fight dirty politics.’’