The Law Society has promised it will learn lessons from the disastrous launch of its conveyancing portal, Veyo.

However, the huge row is unlikely to go away, with Rob Hailstone refusing to accept its response to accusations.

Veyo was a partnership with IT firm Mastek, via a joint enterprise called Legal Practice Technologies (LPT).

The project has now been wound up, after a spend north of £3m but which is likely to be far higher.

It had earlier been estimated that the cost of launch and development would be £10m.

Law Society president Jonathan Smithers last week issued a reply to an open letter from Rob Hailstone, of the Bold Legal Group.

But last night, Hailston described the response as “dismissive” and made it clear he will be pursuing the matter further. He said his questions had not been answered.

In his original open letter, Hailstone said that “a significant number” of solicitors and conveyancers were due an explanation and an apology.

He said that to blame the failure of Veyo on the “changing shape of the market” and the emergence of free products, including the launch of Free2Convey, was both incredulous and insulting.

He said that for Veyo to throw in the towel, using such weak excuses, hid the truth.

Hailstone said: “If Free2Convey was thought to be a real threat, then how was it developed within a matter of months and at a fraction of the cost of Veyo?

“Surely Veyo, allegedly costing millions to develop (or should I say, not develop), would have had a lot more to offer and would still have been able to compete?”

Hailstone’s open letter goes on to ask 15 questions, including why Veyo was ever launched in the first place, and why the Law Society allowed the project to limp along for so long, at huge cost, when the writing was clearly on the wall.

Veyo is the second high-profile attempt to get a conveyancing portal to go live, the first being the Land Registry’s Chain Matrix.

In reply to Hailstone, Law Society president Jonathan Smithers says: “Closing the Veyo project was a difficult decision made by the Law Society and Mastek after an independent review of the market, which has changed significantly, and the cost and time needed to get a product to market.

“We are sorry for the disappointment caused to conveyancers who were waiting for Veyo to be launched.

“We will learn lessons from this project and will ensure that changes are made and that the same mistakes are not repeated.

“Those who were responsible for running LPT, which was an independent company from the Law Society, are no longer involved with the Law Society.”

Last night, Hailstone responded, quoting members of the Bold Group who thought Smithers’ response brushed the matter under the carpet and called for him to go.

Hailstone said he will now be considering what to do.

He said: “It could be that in the not too distant future, an alternative to the Law Society is called for.”