The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has issued an unprecedented apology this week to leading silk and Deputy High Court judge Khawar Qureshi QC for ‘significant errors and avoidable delay’ in handling unfounded allegations made against him.
Qureshi, who has an entirely unblemished professional record, self-reported to the BSB after allegations were made that he had misled the court in the context of the case, Republic of Djibouti v Boreh. The fact that he self-reported was leaked to the press.
Two of the allegations were dismissed almost immediately by the BSB, but the third was adjourned due to unconnected factors until April 2016, when it was dismissed. The BSB has now apologised for ‘any distress or prejudice resulting from errors and delay’.
A spokesperson for Qureshi said Khawar ‘hopes that no more barristers are subjected to such treatment, and that, in future, the BSB will be more robust in protecting the reputation of barristers. This is vital in the context of ever more aggressive litigation and the use of media for smear tactics.
‘He conveyed his concern to the BSB that the mere fact of a “self-report”—made out of a sense of honour, in circumstances where there is no basis whatsoever for an allegation—may be used to besmirch a barrister’s reputation. It is understood that this is the first time ever that the fact of a “self-report” was deliberately leaked to the press’.
The BSB has denied that it was responsible for the leak.
