Guilty: Barristers watchdog (looking into the Leveson lovers scandal) is condemned for its shoddy handling of complaints An inquiry has said the Bar Standards Board has failed to reach satisfactory standards The strongly worded verdict is a blow to the legal profession Carine Patry Hoskins, council for the inquiry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice Failures and flaws in the way barristers handle complaints against themselves are leaving the public at risk, an investigation has found. A scathing inquiry from a state watchdog said that the Bar Standards Board - which regulates the elite of the legal profession - has failed to reach satisfactory standards in every area in which it operates. It said the findings raise a question mark over the legitimacy and legality of the complaints system. The strongly worded verdict from the Legal Services Board is a blow to the legal profession at a time when lawyers are trying to demonstrate the bodies through which they regulate themselves are working. Criticisms levelled at the BSB, which is run by barristers, include delays that see hundreds of complaints against lawyers unresolved for years - with some still unfinished after almost a decade. Two in three of those who complain to the BSB think they are treated unfairly, the investigation found. The charges come at a time of political controversy for the Bar Standards Board. Following the publication of the Leveson report, which calls for an end to self-regulation of newspapers and the imposition of Press regulation laws, it emerged that two of the barristers who worked on opposing sides during the Inquiry were having an affair. David Sherborne QC, who represented celebrities and others calling for state regulation of the Press, and Carine Patry Hoskins, who represented the Inquiry, went for a break together to the Greek island of Santorini four months before the Inquiry ended. The pair have said they went on holiday to discuss the possibility of a future relationship, decided against it, but changed their minds later on. And Lord Justice Leveson rejected any suggestion that the Inquiry may have been compromised, and has said it is for the Bar Standards Board to settle a complaint from senior Tory MP Rob Wilson over the conduct of the lawyers. The BSB, which was launched seven years ago, has come in for repeated criticism. Nevertheless, last year its chairman Baroness Deech insisted it was in "rude health." But the report from the Legal Services Board said one survey had found more than two thirds of people who complained to the BSB about the conduct of barristers thought its methods were neither open nor fair. The BSB, which polices the conduct of 15,000 barristers, "has very little evidence" about the views of ordinary people who pay them, it found. However, user satisfaction surveys showed "a significant number of those that have had reason to complain about an individual regulated by the BSB do not consider the process open and fair." The figure was 67 per cent, or two out of three complainants. During 2013, the Legal Services Board said, the BSB has been handling 316 complaints about barristers which date back to 2010 and 2011. There were a number of even older unresolved cases, with one going back to 2004. Lord Justice Leveson rejected any suggestion that the Inquiry may have been compromised "Such delays are not fair to those regulated by the BSB who face such allegations for such a long period and raise risks to consumers who receive services from barristers who may be unfit to practise or need to undertake remedial action," the report said. The inquiry questioned the independence of the BSB because its purse strings are held by the Bar Council, the organisation which speaks for barristers. The Bar Council can reject any item of BSB spending, must approve any cheques for more than £1,000, and can veto staff appointments. The report said in some incidents the watchdog had "been concerned about the Bar Council's attempts to fetter this independence." It added: "Involvement of the representative body in regulatory matters raises risks to the legitimacy of the independent regulatory body." It might also break the law, the report said. The inquiry also criticised the way the regulator operates through eight different committees with 130 members, adding the Legal Services Board "does not believe that it can deliver effective or efficient governance." The Bar Standards Board currently claims that by the end of 2013 "the term BSB-regulated will be an assurance of good, honest, independent advocacy and expert legal advice." However, the Legal Services Board said the BSB had in reality promised only to achieve satisfactory grades in all areas by the spring of 2016 and that even this task was "ambitious." It said some improvements would need "culture change" and in other areas the BSB "has painted an overly optimistic picture about the progress it has made." BSB director Dr Vanessa Davies said: "The report praises the BSB's self-assessment and progress in this area while identifying areas for improvement. She added: "Like any organisation that serves the public - and this one does so at no expense to the public - we want to improve constantly. We welcome the fact that the LSB agrees with how we have analysed our progress so far and how we are going to continue to modernise. We know that is ambitious and tough: but we also know that the public deserves no less.