Cherie Blair, according to yesterday's Telegraph, angered delegates at a fringe meeting at Conservative Party conference by suggesting that those who wished to change the Human Rights Act were advocating the return of slavery or disagreed with the sanctity of life.

'There were hisses and angry shouts from the crowd, which included a number of victims' relatives, as Mrs Blair, a leading human rights lawyer, was drowned out and forced to abandon her argument.

Mr Bowman told Mrs Blair: "Where the human rights are concerned I'm wondering if there's a possibility that when somebody decides, like the perpetrator of the crime against Sally, to go out armed of a night to murder, waits until the coast is clear then rapes, bites, desecrates the body of an 18-year-old girl, [then] I personally believe that that man's human rights should be waived to a degree.

"I think that there should be an amendment to the Human Rights Act where someone if they choose to step outside being a human being, they choose to commit an inhuman act, then the Human Rights Act does not apply."

Mrs Blair insisted that the Act was "part of the solution not part of the problem".'

I know we are often told, mainly by herself, that Cherie Blair is a 'Leading Human Rights Lawyer', but has anyone got any evidence for this?

Has anyone ever seen or heard of any major cases in which she has actually advanced any Human Rights which benefit ordinary people (I don't include corporations paying her to protect their property interests).

Or is she called a 'leading' lawyer because she has taken silk and in the past charged a huge sum of money for her advice (as you would be able to if you were married to a PM).