Solicitors’ watchdog not taking action over Jonathan Reynolds’ LinkedIn page

The solicitors’ watchdog said it was not taking any action after Jonathan Reynolds was accused of misrepresenting his legal career.

The Business Secretary had been accused of describing himself as a solicitor on several occasions – on his LinkedIn page, in the Commons and on an old constituency website that is no longer online – when he had actually worked as a trainee at a law firm.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority contacted Mr Reynolds in January about an error on his LinkedIn profile which was then corrected, it is understood.

An SRA spokesperson said: “Our regulatory role is to protect the interests of users of legal services. We are aware of this issue, however having considered all factors involved, there is no need for us to take any action.”

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has asked the ministerial standards watchdog to look into Mr Reynolds.

Mr Griffith wrote to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, asking him to open an investigation into potential breaches of the ministerial code.

Reform UK wrote to Sir Keir Starmer asking the Prime Minister to sack Mr Reynolds as a minister.

Mr Reynolds worked for Addleshaw Goddard LLP in Manchester as a trainee solicitor, but left his legal career behind when he was elected as a Labour MP in 2010. He never qualified as a solicitor.

“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 business people … the Secretary of State appears to have knowingly misled the public in a manner not compatible with the Ministerial Code and the standards rightly expected of those in high public office,” Mr Griffith, the shadow business secretary, wrote in his letter.

A Labour source suggested the reference to him being a solicitor on the LinkedIn profile was “human error” and said Mr Reynolds does not manage the profile.

The profile previously stated that he was both a “trainee solicitor” and a “solicitor”.

The source also suggested Mr Reynolds did not write the biography on the old constituency website himself and that the mention in a parliamentary speech in 2014 was a passing reference.

Mr Reynolds said in the speech that he “worked as a solicitor in Manchester city centre” when talking about how he commuted to work as MPs debated a bill on high speed rail.

Dame Diana Johnson defended her colleague on Wednesday morning, telling Times Radio she thought there had been “a bit of a muddle” but that Mr Reynolds has been clear he was a trainee solicitor.

She said: “I think there’s been administrative mistakes but I think it’s very clear that he was a trainee solicitor.”

The five Reform UK MPs sent a letter to the Prime Minister.

“We are writing to you with deep concern and call on you to take immediate action to remove the Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds as Secretary of State for Business and Trade,” they said.