Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority said: "I hope the Met is going to send him a bill for their time - and when he pays it back he should add 12.5 per cent for good service.

"This sort of waste of police time is unforgivable. Police are there to catch criminals, not to cater to rivalries between chefs."

Scotland Yard said it could not rule out reopening the investigation, which might lead to Gordon being cautioned.

The source of the rivalry between the two chefs is unclear.

Gordon’s trials in New York - Mar 13 2007
Gordon Ramsay has how he had a tough time getting used to American culture when he opened his restaurant in New York last year.

The foul-mouthed chef said he was irritated at Thanksgiving because customers kept asking him for the traditional turkey, the Daily Express reports.

"I didn’t come to New York to do a f****** turkey," he said.

And at Christmas, he got annoyed by people wishing him ’happy holidays’, explaining: "I was thinking, ’No, it’s not f****** happy holidays. I’m over here to work my f****** a*** off’."

The celebrity chef also clashed with his neighbours, who complained about the smells being pumped out of the kitchen’s extractor fans.

"I said to the head of the residents’ association, ’F*** me, the smells coming out of this kitchen are extraordinary. Shouldn’t you be happy? F****** slow-braising pork smells f****** amazing.’ He just stomped off."

New Yorkers obviously aren’t familiar with Gordon’s own special brand of language.

Gordon’s brother still being questioned - Feb 23 2007
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s younger brother remains detained on the Indonesian island of Bali on heroin possession charges.

Ronnie Ramsay, 39, was carrying 100 milligrams of the illegal drug in his hand when he was searched by police on February 12 in a supermarket car park near the popular resort town of Kuta, said Maj Gusti Putu Suryasa.

Mr Ramsay is still being questioned, but "told the police the heroin was for personal use," the police spokesman said.

"He was walking suspiciously and the police stopped him and searched him," Maj Suryasa said. "He had the illegal drug in his hand."

Under Indonesia’s tough drug laws Mr Ramsay could face a maximum 10-year jail sentence.

More than half of Indonesia’s prison population of 116,000 are drug offenders.

Traffickers are routinely sentenced to death. At the end of 2006, 134 people were on death row, including 37 foreigners and 97 Indonesians, most of them for drug-related crimes.

Michelin-starred chef and Hell’s Kitchen star Gordon has repeatedly tried to help his addicted brother by paying for rehabilitation programmes, and spoke about his brother’s problems in his autobiography Humble Pie.

Gordon’s brother held in Bali - Feb 22 2007
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is trying to free his brother from jail in Bali after he was caught with heroin by police.

Addict Ronnie Ramsay, 39, could face a jail term of up to 10 years after being charged with possessing a small amount of the Class A drug.

Gordon’s spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately it is correct. He has been arrested. There is nothing we would like to add. It is correct representatives are flying out."

Ronnie, who is living in Indonesia, was charged on Friday and has been offered consular assistance, the Foreign Office said.