Jonathan Reynolds (Image: Getty)
Conservatives stepped up demands for Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to resign after Prime Minister Sir “accepted” Mr Reynolds’ apology for wrongly describing himself as a solicitor.
Mr Reynolds descriobed himself as a solicitor on his LinkedIn page, in the Commons and on an old constituency website that is no longer online – even though he worked as a trainee solicitor in Manchester but never qualified.
The term “solicitor” is legally protected and it is an offence for someone deliberately to call themselves a solicitor if they are not qualified and registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Downing Street said Mr Reynolds had written the Prime Minister a letter apologising for the “inadvertent errors”.
“He’s written to the Prime Minister offering an unreserved apology for inadvertent errors made and he’s provided an explanation and an apology that the Prime Minister has accepted,” Sir Keir’s official spokesman said.
“The Prime Minister and the Business Secretary are focused on delivering on the plan for change and delivering on the priorities of British people, driving growth in the economy, and the Prime Minister looks forward to continuing to work with the Business Secretary on that agenda.”
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The Solicitors Regulation Authority has launched a second inquiry and Downing Street said there would not be any change to Mr Reynolds’ work while this is underway.
But Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffiths said: “Jonathan Reynolds is making excuses – he said it’s ‘not a huge deal’.
“The Business Secretary lied to Parliament. This is still on the record. He should do the proper thing and resign.”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) initially said it was not taking any action but then said it would look into Mr Reynolds after “further information” came to light.
It has not launched a formal investigation.
According to the SRA, “it is a criminal offence for someone to call themselves a solicitor or act as a solicitor if they are not on the roll of solicitors”.
This could include someone “describing themselves as a solicitor on their social media profiles”.
Previously a Labour source suggested the reference to him being a solicitor on his LinkedIn profile was “human error” and said Mr Reynolds did not manage the profile.