New Delhi (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds admitted to wrongly calling himself a solicitor in Parliament but insisted he never misrepresented his career.
While facing pressure for an investigation from the Tory party, Mr Reynolds apologized for describing himself as a solicitor in Parliament but rejected claims of professional misrepresentation.
What did Jonathan Reynolds say about misrepresenting his career?
The UK business secretary, currently in India for free trade talks, stated he had spoken to the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, which is considering a formal inquiry.
During a press briefing, Mr. Reynolds said that “over a decade ago,” he had “used shorthand” in a speech, clarifying that it was “not a speech about the legal profession, legislation, or the law.”
He stated,
“I apologise for that, but again, I don’t think anyone would have interpreted that in any way that I was misrepresenting myself professionally.”
The business secretary added,
“And I just want to be clear, for a speech, I think, 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.”
How did the Business Secretary respond to criticism from the Conservative Party over his legal career?
Mr Reynolds slammed the Tory party’s “personal attacks,” calling them a tactic to “divert attention from governance.”
He accused the Conservative Party of having no concrete plan for the country and relying on “personal attacks” to derail the government.
What did Reyold say about his meeting with Piyush Goyal?
The business secretary said his meeting with Indian Minister Piyush Goyal had been “going well,” addressing essential unresolved trade problems carried over from 14 previous negotiation rounds under Conservative leadership.
He stated,
“Piyush was absolutely of the same mind as me – we look to the future.”
Mr Reynolds confirmed that Mr Goyal plans to visit Washington, DC, at the end of March for trade negotiations with Trump’s administration.
He pointed out that Britain had a “very solid” foundation for trade discussions. In contrast to the EU, the US has no trade deficit with the UK.
Mr Reynolds stated,
“You can even say, in their parlance, they’re winning on their criteria when it comes to that trading relationship.”
He argued that the UK’s exit from the EU customs union post-Brexit was beneficial, asserting, “We can chart the path which is just purely in the UK’s interest,” adding, “I would like to see, in a whole range of areas, closer US-UK trade. I think the dynamism they have in technology, their venture capital scale-up system is second to none, their talent in universities.”
What did Reynolds say about UK-US trade, AI regulations, and digital tax?
The business secretary revealed he had held two conversations with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and expressed hopes for an in-person meeting in March, following his diplomatic trip to Japan.
While referring to the UK’s AI legislation, which has been delayed due to alignment with US policies, he stated,
“I think in areas like AI, I don’t think the EU’s got their regulatory framework quite right. There’s a lot of business concerns about that. The US is in a different place to the EU, I think again this could work to our advantage in terms of taking that forward.”
Mr Reynolds acknowledged that the digital services tax was set to be part of discussions with Washington, as Donald Trump had previously warned of trade penalties on nations imposing levies on US tech firms.
He said,
“It’s well-known the US has concerns about things like the digital services tax.”
What did the Solicitors Regulation Authority say about Reynolds’ career claims?
Last week, the authority announced it would examine accusations against the business secretary for allegedly presenting himself as a solicitor, even though he had not completed his legal training.
A representative from the regulator stated,
“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.”
What did the shadow justice secretary ask the SRA about Reynolds’ claims, and how did Labour respond?
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has formally written to the SRA to investigate whether Mr Reynolds misrepresented his legal career, including a 2014 Commons claim that he had “worked as a solicitor in Manchester city centre.
A Labour spokesperson stated,
“Jonathan looks forward to engaging fully with the Solicitors Regulation Authority and drawing a line under the matter.”