A senior Tory yesterday protested to Lord Chancellor Lord Irvine of Lairg about links between Amnesty International and one of the Law Lords who ruled former Chilean dictator Gen Augusto Pinochet should stand trial.
Lord Hoffmann, who cast the deciding vote that found Gen Pinochet was not immune from prosecution, is an unpaid director of Amnesty International Charity Ltd, which is affiliated to the human rights pressure group. Former Chancellor Lord Lamont today wrote to Lord Irvine, as head of the legal profession: "I know Lord Hoffmann to be a distinguished and honourable man but if these reports are correct they raise serious questions about the conduct of this case."