You would not want to be cross-questioned by this woman.

Dinah Rose QC, who successfully represented 12-year-old boy ‘M’ in the JFS case, has been crowned Barrister of the Year by magazine The Lawyer.

Since taking silk in 2006, 43-year-old Miss Rose, of Blackstone Chambers, has worked on several of the most high-profile High Court cases, most notably the judicial review of the Attorney General’s controversial decision to drop the investigation into alleged bribes of Saudi officials by BAE Systems; and the case of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident detained in Guantanamo Bay (now back in Britain) who sought access to information held by the UK relating to his rendition and torture.

A barrister for 20 years, she says: “This was particularly interesting — the whole question of trying to get to the bottom of secrecy over the extraordinary rendition and torture, and the potential complicity by British intelligence agencies.” She is also involved in the case of Debbie Purdy, the multiple sclerosis sufferer seeking to clarify the law on assisted suicide. Miss Rose is representing the Director of Public Prosecutions.

She was nominated for the accolade by her chambers, where she has spent her whole career. “My parents were delighted,” she adds.

Miss Rose, a member of New North London Synagogue, is a trustee of Responsibility, the new Jewish ethics organisation. Her husband, Peter Kessler, is chairman of Simon Marks Jewish Primary School.