Nigel Farage threatens to prosecute Labour minister over CV fib | Politics | News
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 โworked as a solicitor in Manchester city centreโ 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: “Weโve now got a cabinet of 25 men and women, not one of whom has ever worked in private business – not one.โ
“We have a Chancellor – dubbed by our Northern professional comic Lee Anderson as โRachel from Accountsโ – 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 weโre in such trouble?
“And a Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds whoโs never had a proper job in his life, who tells us heโs a solicitor. Well heโs 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.โ
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.
Mr Farage told the Express: โWe will be taking out a private prosecution against Jonathan Reynolds for breaking the law.โ
โIf Starmer doesnโt act, we will.โ
In a fresh statement on Friday, the Solicitorsโ 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.โ
“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.โ
Mr Farage promised future Reform UK successes now the party is “topping every single opinion poll in this country”.
He also hit back after Keir Starmer went on the attack against him in a speech in Scotland at the weekend, criticising Reformโs opposition to the Workerโs Rights Bill.
Mr Farage blasted: โI wonโt be lectured to by this PM about well-paid jobs!โ
โThe net zero madness is closing down factories, closing down industry on a scale we couldnโt even believe.
โThe Labour and Conservative governments have said โyou must buy electric carsโ. We have closed most of our chemical industry, aluminium smelting. We only have 1 primary steel plant left in the UK.
โEven if they surround the whole of Cornwall with these godforsaken pig-ugly windmills it will still only provide a fraction of the jobs.โ
