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The celebrities' barrister, the Leveson QC's glamorous No2 and an affair



She is the glamorous brunette dubbed the ‘thinking man’s Pippa Middleton’. He is the barrister to the stars frequently pictured with his VIP clients.


Now, the conduct of these two key lawyers at the Leveson Inquiry into media standards has been called into question – after the revelation that they are having an affair.


Twice-married David Sherborne, 44, who represented Hugh Grant and other phone-hacking victims, is in a relationship with mother-of-two Carine Patry Hoskins, junior counsel for Lord Justice Leveson.

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In a relationship: Carine Patry Hoskins, left, who is junior counsel for Lord Justice Levseson and lawyer to the stars David Sherborne, right


The couple admit going on holiday together to the Greek island of Santorini in August – days after months of public hearings at the Inquiry ended – but claim their affair did not begin until after the controversial Leveson report was published in November.


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The disclosure raises concerns over whether their relationship undermined the integrity of the Leveson Inquiry.

The pair have already been the subject of gossip in legal circles for several months, with rumours including sightings of the couple late at night in a London bar and breakfasting together at a fashionable brasserie near the Royal Courts of Justice.










Junior councel Carine Patry Hoskins at the Leveson inquiry





But they did not tell Lord Justice Leveson or Robert Jay QC, the Inquiry’s senior counsel and Miss Patry Hoskins’ immediate superior, of their relationship, with the Santorini trip brought to the men’s attention only in recent days.


Twitter frenzy: Carine Patry Hoskins trended on Twitter when she appeared on television in the Leveson Inquiry

It is understood the couple claim that they went on holiday together simply to ‘discuss the possibility of a future relationship’.


In a joint statement, the judge and the QC confirmed: ‘Neither Lord Justice Leveson nor Robert Jay QC was aware of the fact that Ms Patry Hoskins went on holiday with Mr Sherborne or that they had a developing relationship.

'Mr Jay first learnt there was a persnoal relationship of any sort on 18 March 2013 and he later informed Lord Justice Leveson. The Santorini holiday has only been mentioned this week.'

Miss Patry Hoskins, 40, and her husband, QC Mark Hoskins, 45, put their £4million home on the market in December and are understood to be divorcing.


As junior counsel for the Inquiry – her fees paid by the taxpayer – Miss Patry Hoskins was required to be totally independent.


Her job was to test the evidence given to the Inquiry on behalf of the public and assist proceedings without any undisclosed conflict of interest.


Details of her affair will prompt questions about her objectivity. At the hearings she questioned witnesses, including Mr Sherborne’s clients, with grievances against the Press. Among them were singer Charlotte Church and ex-footballer Garry Flitcroft.


During the Inquiry and once the public hearings concluded at the end of July, Miss Patry Hoskins was also heavily involved in drafting important legal correspondence between the Inquiry and individuals and organisations that gave evidence – including newspapers and editors who had been subject to fierce questioning by Mr Sherborne.



She also collated facts for parts of Lord Justice Leveson’s report, published on November 29.


Bar Council guidelines warn barristers it is very unwise to have relationships with counsel involved in the same cases because clients might perceive ‘a danger of breach of confidence or other conspiracy’.


Any relationship was also likely to breach the Council’s code of conduct.


Miss Patry Hoskins and father-of-three Mr Sherborne both featured prominently in the televised live proceedings of the Inquiry, which began in September 2011. Mr Sherborne was also frequently photographed entering the High Court alongside some of his high-profile celebrity clients.

Mr Sherborne spoke of 'conflicts of interest' in his closing submissions to the Inquiry.


He said: 'Coupled with the evidence we've heard of the overly close relationship between the Press and police, the accounts of excessive hospitality, is it any wonder there was the perception of bias or conflict of interest?'

A spokesman for the barristers said Mr Sherborne's involvement with the Inquiry ended on July 24.

The barrister – part of whose Leveson fees will also be paid out of the public purse – has represented dozens of phone-hacking victims at both the Inquiry and in damages claims against News International, including actor Jude Law, Sarah Ferguson and the parents of Madeleine McCann.

Mr Sherborne, paid £400 an hour for appearing at the Inquiry, has also represented comedian Frankie Boyle and Kate Winslet’s husband Ned Rocknroll in recent High Court cases against newspapers.


He was Max Mosley’s lawyer when he successfully sued the now defunct News of the World for invasion of privacy in 2008 after it ran a sexual exposé on him, which wrongly suggested that consensual S&M scenes seen on video footage had a neo-Nazi connotation.


David Cameron set up the Leveson Inquiry in July 2011 at the height of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.


He appointed Lord Justice Leveson to run the investigation into the culture, practice and ethics of the press. The High Court judge had the power to summon newspaper proprietors, journalists, police and politicians to give evidence under oath. Victims of phone-hacking and press intrusion – including many celebrities – also appeared.


The final cost of the Inquiry has yet to be announced but it is estimated to be approaching £6million.


More than £1million of that is expected to be on legal fees for lead counsel Mr Jay and his two junior colleagues, Miss Patry Hoskins and David Barr.


In his opening remarks, Lord Justice Leveson stressed that ‘complete transparency’ should be one ‘of the principal objectives’ of the Inquiry.


A stickler for the rules, in June he was close to quitting after Education Secretary Michael Gove criticised him, arguing the Leveson Inquiry was a threat to press freedom.


Mr Sherborne’s profile on the 5RB Chambers website describes him as a media and entertainment barrister and gives a long list of famous names he has represented, including the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Blairs.


It says he is ‘particularly well-known for his extensive reputation management practice’ and has also ‘carved himself a niche advising in relation to high net-worth or high-profile divorces, especially in respect of media, confidentiality and disclosure issues’.


The son of a QC, Mr Sherborne has two children from his first marriage to Helen, who he wed in 1993. He got married again in 2006, to 36-year-old Charlotte Leyshon, who he has now divorced.
The couple lived in a £1.5million converted barn near Shenley, Hertfordshire, but she has since moved to south Wales with their young child.

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