Brit attorney-general admits affair with Indian origin lawyer

LONDON: Britain’s attorney-general Lord Goldsmith has admitted having an affair with a top barrister of Indian origin who spent her initial years in Kolkata.

Goldsmith said he had cheated on his wife while having an affair with Kim Hollis, a Queen’s Counsel and a divorced mother of two. Hollis was born in 1957 to an Indian father and a British mother. Hollis grandfather has campaigned with Mahatma Gandhi for Independence, and she is touted as the first Asian woman to become Queen’s counsel.

Kim Hollis has worked on a number of high-profile prosecutions, including that of a man who stole Victoria Beckham’s luggage at Heathrow Airport in 2001. After spending the first five years of her life in Kolkata, she moved to Britain, where she attended Cheltenham Ladies’ College.

Asked to give tips for success to young female lawyers, The Independent quoted her as saying: “Networking is incredibly important.”

Goldsmith, 57, who is Prime Minister Tony Blair’s top legal adviser, said his wife Joy, also 57, had been aware of the affair. Whitehall sources told newspaper that the affair ended around two and a half years ago. “My wife knows all about this and has done for some time. It is all in the past. We are both very happy. This is a private matter and we have no further comment to make,” Goldsmith said.

With inputs from Agencies