Bertha Joseph to hear her fate after spending £900 donation money on two dresses

The fate of the fire authority chief who spent £900 in donations on two dresses for charity balls while Mayor of Brent was hanging in the balance today.

Boris Johnson gave Bertha Joseph two weeks, which expires today, to consider her position but has not yet heard back from her.

Ms Joseph, who is suspended for six months from her council for bringing it into disrepute, is expected to attend a key meeting of the fire authority this afternoon where her vote is needed to get through the Mayor's plans.

Insiders at the fire authority suggested she was considering "sitting tight" until after the May 6 local elections.

But a failure to respond to the Mayor's ultimatum was likely to be met with her dismissal. A City Hall source told the Standard Mr Johnson was "minded" to remove Ms Joseph from her post.

The fire authority meeting descended into chaos after Tory chairman Brian Coleman threw out a television camera crew and banned any mention of the furore surrounding Ms Joseph.

Lib Dem Caroline Pidgeon was understood to have stormed out of the meeting in protest.