Judges avoid charity work

JUDGES are treating charity work cautiously following the Lord Hoffmann debacle.

The Master of the Rolls, Lord Woolf, has bowed out of hosting a fund raising reception for Amnesty International because he has been told he could be one of the judges hearing General Augusto Pinochet's new plea for state immunity.

While Lord Woolf has no formal role in Amnesty - unlike Lord Hoffmann whose links with the charity caused the original Law Lords' ruling to be set aside - he will be anxious to avoid any objections from the general's lawyers.

Former Labour Solicitor General Lord Archer of Sandwell will now host the evening, due to be held at a private house in London this month.



The Guardian