Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has been placed under investigation for a second time amid claims he lied about a previous career as a solicitor.
The watchdog in charge of regulating the profession said they had previously looked into the claims and dropped them, however has now announced it has opened a fresh line of inquiries.
Mr Reynolds claimed he worked as a solicitor for law firm Addleshaw Goddard before becoming an MP.
He also 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.
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 this afternoon, 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.”
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