Reynolds: “Happy to engage with investigation”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided not to take action over business secretary Jonathan Reynolds calling himself a solicitor – but warned him of possible prosecution should he do it again.
It closes an embarrassing chapter for the Labour MP, who never qualified after leaving during his training contract at Addleshaw Goddard to campaign for election in 2010.
It is a criminal offence to hold yourself out a solicitor.
After an initial focus on his LinkedIn profile – which the SRA had already investigated and closed with no further action after the materials were corrected – it reopened its investigation in February after receiving “further information”.
The media found other occasions when he had called himself a solicitor, including in a speech in Parliament in 2014.
An SRA spokesman said this week: “We have concluded our investigation. We do not consider it proportionate or in the public interest to bring criminal proceedings.
“However, we have advised that if the behaviour is repeated, we may well reconsider our position.”
A source close to Mr Reynolds told The Daily Telegraph: “We were happy to engage with the investigation. We’re glad it’s now concluded. Jonathan can now get on with doing the very important job that we are focused on.”
Responding on X, shadow Lord Chancellor Robert Jenrick – who has led the charge against Mr Reynolds – wrote: “In the real world Reynolds would have lost his job. In Starmer’s world there are no consequences.”
Well-known regulatory specialist Brian Rogers, regulatory director in The Access Group’s legal division, wrote on LinkedIn that he “might have agreed” with the SRA’s decision had it not been a government minister – but “those in Parliament are supposed to lead by example, so should be held accountable for law breaking”.
He continued: “Does the Legal Services Board agree with this decision, as it seems to show that the Solicitors Act and Legal Services Act aren’t worth the paper they are written on for those in power?”
Mr Reynolds apologised for referring to himself as a solicitor when the story first emerged but said it was not “a huge deal”.
Then, making a point of order in the House of Commons in March, he said: “I should have made it clear that, specifically, that was a reference to being at the time a trainee solicitor.
“This was an inadvertent error and, although the speech was over a decade ago, as it has been brought to my attention, I would like to formally correct the record.”
There has been no news of Reform UK making good on its pledge to bring a private prosecution against Mr Reynolds.
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