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A cabinet minister accused of misrepresenting his CV has admitted to Parliament that he was wrong to describe himself as a solicitor when he never qualified.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he should have made clear that he was referring to his time as a trainee solicitor in a speech a he made in the House of Commons a decade ago.
It is an offence for someone to call themselves a solicitor if they are not qualified and registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the regulator is investigating Mr Reynolds’ claim.
Mr Reynolds has faced questions about his career in recent weeks and even apologised to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. He worked as a trainee solicitor in Manchester but left his legal career behind when he entered politics.
The MP for Stalybridge and Hyde told the House of Commons on Wednesday evening: “On a point of order, it has come to my attention that in a speech I gave on April 28 2014, recorded in column 614 of Hansard, on the subject of high speed rail, I made a reference to my experience of using our local transport system in Greater Manchester when I worked as a solicitor in Manchester city centre.
“I should have made clear that specifically that was a reference at the time of being a trainee solicitor.
“This was an inadvertent error and although this speech was over a decade ago, as it has been brought to my attention, I would like to formally correct the record and I seek your advice on doing so.”
Mr Reynolds also claimed on his old constituency website that he had worked as a solicitor at the Manchester branch of the law firm Addleshaw Goddard before becoming an MP.
His LinkedIn profile also previously stated he was both a “trainee solicitor” and a “solicitor” with an overlap in dates. The profile has since been updated.
When the claims came to light, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick claimed Mr Reynolds had “fabricated his CV”. But Labour sources argued that the website entry was a “human error from his office”.
In an interview after the row erupted, Mr Reynolds said: “For a speech – and I think a tweet or maybe a Facebook post over a decade ago – I don’t think it’s a huge deal, but I should apologise for that, if anyone has misunderstood that, but I don’t think they have.”
It followed interest in Rachel Reeves’s CV, following allegations that the chancellor exaggerated her Bank of England experience. Questions arose after a BBC investigation found she had stopped working for the bank nine months earlier than stated on her LinkedIn profile.
There were also allegations that she had been investigated for using company expenses in a former job to buy handbags, perfume, earrings and wine for colleagues at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS). These claims have been disputed.
