Police are to take up to a year to decide whether to uphold the caution given to a female QC for outraging public decency.

Last August the barrister was caught drunkenly fiddling with solicitor Graeme Stening round the back of Waterloo station during rush hour. She initially accepted a police caution after sobering up in the cells for a night, but backtracked six weeks later and alleged that Stening had sexually assaulted her. Guaranteed lifetime anonymity as an alleged victim of a sexual offence, the case sparked a media frenzy and claims that she cynically falsified the allegation to preserve her own reputation.

How it might have looked

After eight months the investigation into Stening was dropped. Witnesses told police the QC was a willing participant in the romp, and a Detective Superintendent's review undertaken at her request upheld the view that there was insufficient evidence to proceed. Which could make it more difficult for her to win her battle to expunge her police caution. This week the Met told RollOnFriday that it will take "up to a year" to decide whether to grant her request. Justifying the long timeframe, a spokeswoman said, "the case needs to be reviewed and a number of things need to be looked into", allo allo allo.

If she fails, the Bar Standards Board will have to complete its investigation into the QC, which could result in her referral to a disciplinary tribunal. She will also be in the bizarre position of having won anonymity by outraging public decency. A spokeswoman for the BSB said the matter was still "being dealt with in line with our normal procedures".