Mystery surrounds the arrest of one of the most high-profile female judges in the country as an investigation against her continues.

Constance Briscoe, 55, was arrested at her £1m Clapham Common home, at the weekend and released on bail "pending further enquires".

Kent Police have confirmed she was taken in for questioning but in an unusual move neither they or the Office for Judicial Complaints would elaborate about the allegations against her.

Miss Briscoe, who grew up in south London and studied law at Newcastle, was one of the first black women to sit as a judge in Britain.

She was called to the bar in 1983 and was employed as a criminal lawyer, when she specialised as a rape prosecutor, before being appointed as a crown court recorder in 1996.

She is best known for her an autobiography, titled Ugly, penned in 2006 where she described attempts to commit suicide by swallowing bleach.

In the publication, which became known as the 'misery memoirs', she claimed she had been abused as a child by her parents and her stepfather had burned her hand with a cigarette - leading him to be taken to court.

The book's release led to the rather unsavoury public spectacle of the judge's mother, Carmen Briscoe-Mitchell, taking legal action against her daughter - rejected by a jury following a bitter court battle.

Last year it emerged her mother was facing losing her home after legal bills, racked up during the case, passed the £500,000 mark.

Miss Briscoe also rose to prominence in 2009 after reportedly "mauling" Labour MP Diane Abbott in a debate on the weekly news programme This Week, hosted by former Times editor Andrew Neill.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: "A 55-year-old woman was arrested in Clapham on Saturday, October 6. She was interviewed by officers and then bailed pending further inquiries."

The constabulary would not confirm when she is expected back for further questioning.

In a statement released this week, The Office for Judicial Complaints said: "The Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor have suspended Constance Briscoe from the judiciary pending the outcome of the police investigation into the allegations against her.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further whilst the investigation is active."