Guildford Conservative councillor charged over claims she falsely passed herself off as a barrister (UPDATED)

Guildford Conservative councillor Monika Juneja has been accused of falsely passing herself off as a barrister.

The story was broken by the Surrey Advertiser before Christmas and she was subsequently cleared of breaching the council’s code of conduct. However, the Bar Council then pointed out that in coming to this decision the council had wrongly taken the view that falsely claiming to be a barrister when not fully qualified is not a criminal offence. In fact, it is.

The issue was then taken up by the police who, after arresting Monika Juneja and questioning her twice, have now referred the case against Cllr Juneja to the Crown Prosecution Service.

UPDATE: Monika Juneja has now been charged with seven offences under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act, the Legal Services Act and the Theft Act. She will appear before magistrates on 2 September. In an extra twist, the CPS says, “It is alleged that Ms Juneja constructed false letters from the University of Greenwich and the BPP Law School outlining qualifications that she did not hold”.

Hat-tip: Kelly-Marie Blundell