The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has reopened its investigation into business secretary Jonathan Reynolds describing himself as a solicitor.

The MP for Stalybridge and Hyde found himself in hot water this week after the Guido Fawkes website highlighted how he has on occasion described himself as a solicitor when in fact he never qualified, having left during his training contract at Addleshaw Goddard to campaign for election in 2010.

Earlier this week, the SRA said it would take no further action over it; Labour Party sources have claimed in the media that the use of ‘solicitor’ in his LinkedIn profile and elsewhere were administrative errors.

But an SRA spokesman today 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.”

He did not specify what further information this was, but shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has claimed he was responsible for it.

Earlier this week, he retweeted a clip of Mr Reynolds describing himself as a solicitor while giving a speech in the House of Commons in 2014, adding: “Reynolds was never a solicitor. Like the Chancellor, the Business Secretary fabricated his CV. Under s17 of the Legal Services Act 2007, pretending to be a solicitor is a criminal offence. He’s bang to rights.”

He also highlighted a 2011 tweet in which Mr Reynolds said he had been a solicitor.

On Wednesday, Mr Jenrick said that, “in light of new evidence, I have asked the Solicitors Regulation Authority to investigate with a view to prosecuting”.

Separately, the five Reform MPs wrote to the prime minister to call for Mr Reynolds to be sacked and urged to report himself to the SRA.

Today, Mr Jenrick tweeted: “Update: following my letter, the SRA are now investigating Reynolds again. Everyone can see he repeatedly lied about being a solicitor for over a decade, in clear breach of the law.

“As a former Director of Public Prosecutions, Starmer knows this. He must sack him.”

The letter argued that, “for over a decade Jonathan Reynolds claimed to be a solicitor in Parliament, on his website, online CV, social media as well as in conversations with high-profile businesspeople. This is a prima facie breach of the Legal Services Act 1974 and Solicitors Act 2007 which makes it a criminal offence to pretend to be a solicitor.

“Your own guidance states that falsely describing yourself as a solicitor on your social media profile is a criminal offence. I therefore urge you to investigate this matter with a view to bring forward a prosecution.

“As a former solicitor myself, and Shadow Lord Chancellor, I believe it is critical to maintaining public confidence in the profession that clear breaches of the law like this, are dealt with swiftly and robustly.

“This is especially the case when figures in positions of significant prominence and trust, such as Mr Reynolds, appear to break it. Indeed a failure to act would risk the impression of double standards and a weakening of the legal framework.”

Writing on LinkedIn in the wake of the original decision to close the case, well-known regulatory specialist Brian Rogers, regulatory director in The Access Group’s legal division, said: “I am not at all surprised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority decision not to take action against Jonathan Reynolds, so it now looks like it will be for Legal Services Board or the Law Society to hold him to account under the Solicitors Act/Legal Services Act, otherwise it will open the door for anyone to misuse the term ‘solicitor’ when they aren’t one!

“The video of him saying in Parliament that he was a solicitor should be enough for him to found to have misled the Commons, but that should not be regarded as the end of the matter; taking no action under the above Acts would in effect say, the solicitors’ profession is fair game to those who would wish to abuse it!”