Nigel Farage has revealed that a private prosecution is being brought against senior Labour minister Jonathan Reynolds after he was exposed claiming misleading things about his career before politics.
Last week the Business Secretary was exposed for claiming to have been a solicitor before going into parliament, despite never qualifying.
Mr Reynolds told the House of Commons in 2014 that he “worked as a solicitor in Manchester city centre” before switching careers.
But he did not qualify for the title because he did not complete his training contract, it has emerged.
However falsely claiming to be a solicitor is a criminal offence, something raised by the Conservative shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick.
Speaking at a Reform UK rally in Cornwall this evening, Mr Farage revealed Mr Reynolds will now be pursued in the courts.
He told the enthralled audience: “We’ve now got a cabinet of 25 men and women, not one of whom has ever worked in private business – not one.”
“We have a Chancellor – dubbed by our Northern professional comic Lee Anderson as ‘Rachel from Accounts’ – who tells us she spent 10 years as an economist at the Bank of England. Now we know it was 4.5 in customer complaints! Is it any wonder we’re in such trouble?
“And a Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds who’s never had a proper job in his life, who tells us he’s a solicitor. Well he’s never been qualified which is a criminal offence.
“And I can tell you tonight that there will be a private prosecution brought against Jonathan Reynolds.”
Under s17 of the Legal Services Act 2007, pretending to be a solicitor is a criminal offence, something the Tories are saying demands Mr Reynolds’ resignation.
In a fresh statement on Friday, the Solicitors’ Regulation Agency (SRA) confirmed a second inquiry is now underway into the top Labour minister.
A spokesman 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 Farage promised future Reform UK successes now the party is “topping every single opinion poll in this country”.
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