The U.K.’s Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has formally corrected a statement in Parliament after referring to himself as a former solicitor during a 2014 speech. During a debate on high-speed rail, Reynolds mentioned that he used to work as a solicitor in Manchester before changing careers. However, later, he stated that he should have specified that this reference was to his time as a trainee solicitor. Reynolds called it an “inadvertent error” and decided to formally correct the public record despite the speech being from over a decade ago. He had already apologized to Keir Starmer for the mistake. The term “solicitor” is legally protected, and it’s against the law for someone to call themselves a solicitor without proper qualification and registration with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The SRA initially decided not to take action after Reynolds corrected an error on his LinkedIn profile, which had listed one of his former positions as “solicitor”. However, following accusations by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick of “criminal conduct”, the SRA reopened an investigation. Reynolds later clarified that he had used shorthand in his speech, which was not about the legal profession or regulation. Despite this, he apologized for any misunderstanding that might have arisen from the speech. He also criticized the personal attacks from the Conservative Party, calling them a distraction for the government.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/mar/12/jonathan-reynolds-corrects-record-for-referring-to-himself-as-ex-solicitor