Nigel Farage promises private prosecution against Jonathan Reynolds

Nigel Farage has promised a private prosecution against Jonathan Reynolds after accusations that the Business Secretary misrepresented his legal career.

The Reform UK leader told a party event in Cornwall that Mr Reynolds has “never had a proper job in his life”.

Mr Reynolds worked as a trainee solicitor in Manchester but left his legal career behind when he entered politics.

He has been accused of describing himself as a solicitor on his LinkedIn page, in the Commons and on an old constituency website that is no longer online.

Speaking at the Reform UK Cornwall Conference on Monday evening, Mr Farage said: “Jonathan Reynolds, who’s never had a proper job in his life, who tells us he’s a solicitor when he’s never been qualified, which is a criminal offence.

“I can tell you tonight that there will be a private prosecution brought against Jonathan Reynolds.”

According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (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”.

Last week the SRA said it would reinvestigate Mr Reynolds after “further information” came to light.

The watchdog said on Friday: “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.”

The term “solicitor” is legally protected and it is an offence for someone to call themselves a solicitor if they are not qualified and registered with the SRA.

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.