The Bar Standards Board has appointed an independent reviewer to find out what went wrong during the summer exam period, in which a quarter of bar school examinations could not be completed due to technical faults.

Professor Rebecca Huxley-Binns, pro vice-chancellor at the University of Hull – and former vice-provost at the University of Law – has been chosen to lead the review. She will investigate all aspects of the delivery of the August assessments including the handling of reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates and the governance of the BSB’s decision making.

Dr Sarabajaya Kumar, an expert in diversity and disability issues, will assist her.

Mark Neale, director general of the BSB, said: ‘The final figures confirm that a majority of students were able to sit these exams but I can only repeat how sorry we are that so many students were unable to complete them.’

The review will report to the BSB’s governance, risk and audit committee, which is composed of ‘independent non-executive directors’, according to the regulator. The final report will be published by the BSB.

The regulator was inundated with complaints in August after technical issues meant some students were unable to sit the online tests. Others claim they were temporarily locked out of the exams, while one student reported urinating in a bottle after being told repeatedly that he could not leave his desk during the three-hour assessment.