Ben Emmerson QC, who represents Marina Litvinenko at the inquiry into the murder of her husband, is one of the busiest, high-profile barristers in the London courts.
On Monday afternoon, he was summoned to give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee about his role as counsel to the rudderless Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse.
On Tuesday morning, Emmerson will be focused on the investigation into the killing of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, a case he has been pursuing for more than three years in the hope of unearthing the truth of who was behind the poisoning.
Emmerson, 51, is a specialist in international and domestic human rights. In the course of a prolific legal career, he has appeared before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, the International Criminal Court in the Hague and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
A deputy high-court judge and visiting professor in human rights law at Oxford University, Emmerson also holds the unpaid post of UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-terrorism and Human Rights. He has led investigations into rendition abductions and drone strikes around the world and reports annually to the United Nations General Assembly.
Emmerson was a founding member of Matrix Chambers, the legal powerhouse that includes the former director of public prosecutions Lord Ken Macdonald QC, Professor Philippe Sands QC and the privacy expert Hugh Tomlinson QC. Cherie Booth QC recently left the set.
A resonant courtroom voice and forceful translation of complex legal issues into easily comprehensible phrases has ensured that Emmerson is always in demand as an advocate.
He has often taken on unpopular causes. He was instructed by the International Criminal Court as counsel for the Gaddafi-era spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi, a potential suspect in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
Emmerson also represented Abu Qatada, the Islamist cleric – along with a number of other Belmarsh inmates – at a hearing of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in 2003 arguing that they should not be detained without charge or trial.
That professional association was exploited by tabloid papers and critics to question his suitability for the post of British judge at the ECHR – a position he unsuccessfully applied for in 2012. He is a vocal supporter of the UK’s continued membership of the court in the face of Conservative threats to withdraw.
The Litvinenko inquiry, due to be broadcast online, will give Emmerson further prominence. In the past he has had to rein in his reputation, rubbishing the frequently reported fiction that he was the model for Mark Darcy, the gruff human rights barrister in the bestselling novel Bridget Jones’ Diary. “I was mortified by it,” he has said. “It’s not true.”
