A disbarred barrister with a string of fraud convictions has been told that she may face jail for threatening to tell an investment banker`s employer that he was gay.

Carol Winston-Churchill, 47, admitted blackmail at the Old Bailey court after a 14-year fight to bring her to justice by a dogged detective.

The blackmail occurred after Winston-Churchill met American David Brown at a party in Jamaica in 1983.

They agreed a property deal and Mr Brown - who died last year - handed over £100,000. The deal subsequently fell through and Mr Brown asked for the money back.

Detective constable Kenneth Cox, of the Metropolitan Fraud Squad told the court how lawyers acting for Mr Brown had contacted Winston-Churchill asking for the money back and she replied saying that she would inform employers Bear Stern & Co. that Mr Brown was gay in an attempt to halt the proceedings.

The Bar Council informed the court that Winston-Churchill had been disbarred after being found guilty of four serious disciplinary matters involving fraud.

She is due for sentencing on 30 March and has been told by judge David Paget that, although granted bail terms, it did not mean he had ruled out a prison sentence.