STALYBRIDGE and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds is ‘looking forward’ to working with a new probe into ‘lies’ on his CV.
Political parties have called on Labour’s Business Secretary to be removed from his ministerial position and face an investigation over his claimed credentials as a solicitor before he was elected.
It has emerged that despite previously saying he worked as a solicitor at a law firm in Manchester before becoming an MP, he had quit his legal training to run for Parliament in 2010 and never qualified.
On an election leaflet, he wrote: “I have been our MP covering Stalybridge, Hyde, Dukinfield, Longdendale and Mossley.
“Before that I was a solicitor in Manchester.”
Now after an initial probe, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is looking into the allegations again.
The SRA wrote to Mr Reynolds in January after becoming aware of the error on his LinkedIn profile but decided not to take further action after it was corrected.
But a spokesperson for the regulator said: “We looked at that issue at the time we became aware of it and contacted Mr Reynolds about the profiles.
“The materials were corrected and we closed the matter with no further action based on all the evidence we had at the time.
“However, we’ve now become aware of further information, so we will look at this.”
Mr Reynolds’ camp said an “administrative error” has been corrected, with an updated social media profile now saying he was a “trainee solicitor” at Addleshaw Goddard law firm between August 2009 and May 2010.
That did not stop both the Conservatives and Reform UK from calling for action.
In a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the latter’s five MPs – Nigel Farage, Richard Tice, Lee Anderson, Rupert Lower ad James McMurdock – make their feelings clear. He should be sacked.
They say: “Mr Reynolds has not only lied about his career on his CV, but has broken the law by saying he was a solicitor when he had not qualified.
“Perhaps more worryingly, Mr. Reynolds spoke in a debate on the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill on the 28th April 2014.
“In that speech on the floor of the House of Commons chamber, he said, ‘Before the last election, I worked as a solicitor in Manchester city centre.’ This is undisputed evidence that he has not only broken the law, but has also misled Parliament.
“According to the Solicitors Act 1974, it is a criminal offence for someone to call themselves a solicitor or use any title implying they are a solicitor if they are not actually registered on the roll of solicitors – this is what Mr Reynolds has done on his Linkedln page, which he has since amended, and inferred on other social media channels.
“The public are already starting to lose trust in you and your government, so we urge you to do the right thing, remove the Secretary of State from his position and urge him to refer himself to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and apologise to the public.”
Mr Reynolds’ shadow, Conservative MP Andrew Griffith, also wants action to be taken.
Writing to Sir Laurie Magnus, independent adviser on ministers’ interests, he said, calling for an investigation into potential breaches of the ministerial code: “By repeatedly referring to himself as a solicitor on his website, online CV (LinkedIn), and social media, as well as in conversations with high-profile businesspeople such as Luke Johnson, the Secretary of State appears to have knowingly mislead the public in a manner not compatible with the Ministerial Code and the standards rightly expected of those in high public office.”
The SRA’s decision came after Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick demanded a new inquiry, accusing Mr Reynolds of “criminal conduct” and calling on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to sack him.
However, a Labour spokesperson said: “Jonathan looks forward to engaging fully with the Solicitors Regulation Authority and drawing a line under the matter.”