First stage approval has been given for Cherie Booth, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to come to Bermuda to represent the family of teenage murder victim Rebecca Middleton this April.

The Bermuda Bar Council has agreed to a request to have Ms Booth, one of the UK’s leading QCs, as legal counsel at the judicial review scheduled to take place in Supreme Court on April 16 and 17.

However, before Ms Booth is given the final green light to work as a legal representative on the Island she must also gain approval from the Department of Immigration and the Supreme Court.

Applications to clear those hurdles have been made and will be dealt with in coming weeks.

A brief review of how things are progressing with filing evidence documents for the case was held in the Supreme Court at the end of last week.

The Department of Public Prosecutions had previously agreed that by January 19 it would file its evidence as to why the director Vinette Graham-Allen made her decision last March not to reinvestigate the murder or consider fresh charges. The brutal rape and murder of Canadian visitor Becky, 17, at a remote spot at Ferry Reach, St. George’s in July 1996, remains unsolved.

No-one has ever been convicted of the murder.

The court hearing this April, expected to be heard by Chief Justice Richard Ground, will deal simply with the arguments as to whether there should or shouldn’t be a re-examination of the evidence and pursuit of fresh charges against suspects.

Ms Booth has previously offered legal advice to the Middletons.

Attorney Kelvin Hastings-Smith, of Appleby Hunter Bailhache, served evidence to the DPP containing reasons as to why the case should be reinvestigated at the end of 2006. He said the short court hearing last Thursday was dealing with case management to ensure everything is in order for the April deadline.

He said the DPP had co-operated in efforts for Ms Booth to be brought to the Island. The DPP is believed to be seeking overseas counsel of its own to appear in the two-day judicial review, which has been allowed by Mr. Justice Ground.