Michael Caplan, QC, is best known for defending the former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet whom Spain was trying to extradite from the UK where he had been arrested in 1999.

He led the legal team which succesfully halted the removal of Pinochet from his hospital bed in London to face charges over human rights abuses committed when he was the leader of the South American country.

In another earlier high-profile case, he had acted for the captain of the Bowbelle, the dredger that ran into the Marchioness pleasure boat in 1989 in a collision that cost 51 lives.

Mr Caplan qualified as a solicitor in 1977 and is one of the few entitled to act as an advocate. So when it comes to trials, he has the same rights as a barrister. Even fewer solicitors are a QC. He has been a partner at Kingsley Napley, based in East London, for nearly 25 years and is said to be highly prized by clients. According to the firm’s website, “more than one client” has described Mr Caplan as “the best solicitor I have ever worked with”.

Mr Caplan, a contributor to The Times law supplement, is regarded as an expert on international law and extradition matters.

Although he was criticised by human rights demonstrators for representing Pinochet, he does not shy from controversy.

In 1999, Tony Blair found himself embroiled in a row over the Pinochet case after he proffered his views on the former dictator during the Labour Party conference.

Mr Caplan promptly wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to explain why he had seen fit to comment on the matter while the four-day hearing to decide Pinochet’s extradition was in progress.

Mr Caplan sits as a part-time judge (Recorder) in the Crown Court and is a chairman of the police disciplinary appeal tribunal. In 2003, he stepped down as chairman of the Solicitor Advocates Association.

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