A New Zealand deputy mayor Ben McNulty has apologised for calling a member of the public a “nonce”.

McNulty, who is the deputy for the city of Wellington, issued a statement on social media on Wednesday.

“In January I responded to an anonymous user’s post by saying they were a nonce,” he said.

Wellington’s deputy mayor Ben McNulty. (David Unwin/The Post)

“I now know that term has a meaning I did not intend and using it was offensive. I regret using the term and apologise for doing so.”

Nonce is a colloquial and offensive term to refer to an alleged or convicted sex offender, especially in cases involving children.

McNulty made the comment during an online exchange with a member of the public.

That comment led to a Code of Conduct complaint against him, the NZ Herald reported, which Wellington mayor Andrew Little has upheld.

This story has been reproduced with permission from Stuff.co.nz.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.