The tweet concerned a story on Clooney's comments following the conviction of Al-Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who were found guilty in a Cairo court of "spreading false news" and sentenced to three years' jail.

Clooney has represented Fahmy, a Canadian national, since last year.

She said the verdict sent out a dangerous message. "It sends a message that journalists can be locked up for simply doing their job, for telling the truth and reporting the news," she said.

"And it sends a dangerous message that there are judges in Egypt who will allow their courts to become instruments of political repression and propaganda."

On Twitter, there were many critics of the AP tweet.

Radio host Dominic Knight tweeted "that's Amal Clooney THE RESPECTED LAWYER".

Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton tweeted that "the AP might want to rethink how they refer to women on Twitter".

Clooney — who married actor George Clooney in Venice in September 2014, and took his name — is a barrister with London's Doughty Street Chambers. She specialises in international law, criminal law, human rights, and extradition.

She was a rapporteur for a report released in 2014 by the International Bar Association Human Rights Initiative that raised questions about the independence of judges and prosecutors in Egypt.