Emma Thompson to play lawyer inspired by Gareth Peirce in thriller Secret Evidence

British actress Emma Thompson is once again attached to play a character inspired by renowned human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce in US-UK-Canada love-story-thriller The Secret Evidence, which is currently at script stage.

The Middle East- and London-set drama follows a young British couple mistakenly caught up in the war on terror who turn to Thompson’s character to get one of them out of prison.

However, in fighting for her boyfriend’s freedom, the film’s young female lead finds herself and her family subject to attack from the UK Government’s secret service.

Thompson was Oscar-nominated for her previous portrayal of Peirce, the defence lawyer of Irish terror suspects the Guildford Four, in Jim Sheridan’s acclaimed 1993 drama In the Name of the Father.

J Todd Harris, executive producer of The Kids Are Alright, is pushing the project out of the US, alongside UK co-producers Carola Ash and Kwesi Dickson of Future Films’ production arm 2B Pictures and Dave Valleau of Canadian outfit South Creek Pictures.

Canadian Nicholas Racz (The Burial Society) will direct and has co-written the script with Cerie Bullivant, who drew on his own real-life experience for inspiration after he was detained under house arrest for two years by the UK Government for suspected involvement in terrorism, which was never proved. Bullivant was represented by the renowned lawyer Peirce.

The team is currently out to finance on the $6-8m co-production, which they hope to shoot in Autumn 2012.

Peirce, who turned down a CBE in 1999, has worked across a number of high profile cases with clients including the Birmingham Six, the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, Moazzam Begg and Julian Assange.

2B recently co-produced The Last Passenger.