Questioned by Robert Jay QC ... News Corporation Chief Executive and Chairman, Rupert Murdoch, speaking at the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the media, at the High Court in London. Credit:Reuters TV Mr Jay, 52, has a long history of leading high-profile, complex and emotional cases. According to his profile on the website for law firm 39 Essex Street, Mr Jay last year defended the Foreign Commonwealth Office against claims of torture in colonial detention in Kenya during the 1950s and '60s. The case was included in Mr Jay's listing in The Lawyer Hot 100 list this year, which said that, although the defence was unsuccessful, it made his name in public law. Mr Jay also acted against the oil-trading company Trafigura in 2007,getting £30 million ($46.8 million) in compensation for people on the Ivory Coast who fell ill from toxic waste.

'This is such fun' ... Robert Jay QC at the Leveson inquiry in December. Credit:Getty Images Mr Jay's work was always detailed and fair, his peers told The Guardian, and he would never "go for the jugular" when facing James Murdoch and his father, Rupert. Anyone watching the Murdochs give evidence this week would have seen this in Mr Jay's line of questioning. Grilled ... News Corp Deputy Chief Operating Officer, James Murdoch, speaking at the Leveson Inquiry. Credit:REUTERS TV In his bright yellow framed glasses, he casually leaned on his podium and "pensively" stroked his beard, as The Daily Beast put it.

"Press watchdogs and Murdoch opponents alike may be