Queen's Counsel as "excellent appointments.'' Governor Lord Waddington has appointed Mr. John Campbell, Mr. Coles Diel and Mr. Richard Hector as QC's, taking the total in Bermuda to 10.

Queen's Counsel must be authorised by the Queen and is traditionally a recognition of excellence among barristers. The appointment is known as "taking silk'', because the titleholder wears a silk gown when appearing in court.

Senior partner at Appleby, Spurling and Kempe, Mr. Campbell is a recognised and respected corporate lawyer.

The Attorney General said: "Coles Diel is a lawyer with a great deal of experience specialising in advocacy. I admire him immensely.'' He described Mr. Hector as, probably, the leading defence advocate in Bermuda.

He said: "He is a very capable lawyer. I think he has stood the average Bermudian in very good stead over a number of years.''