THE BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, has been accused of “lazy misinformation” after she reported on Dominic Raab’s demotion from the role of Foreign Secretary.

Kuenssberg had tweeted about the Tory Cabinet reshuffle, which saw Raab moved from one of the four “great offices” in favour of Liz Truss.

Instead, Raab was given the role of Justice Secretary, alongside the roles of Lord Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister.

The move was widely seen as a demotion, with extra titles added to soften the blow. The role of Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent fixture of government, with the last person to hold the title being Nick Clegg during the LibDem-Tory coalition.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson's reshuffle 'rewarding failure' as many MPs kept in post

Reporting on the change in Raab’s position, Kuenssberg wrote: “Raab's move to Justice Secretary means he loses one of the traditional great offices of state, technically there's no doubt that it is a demotion. After trying to manage the Afghan pullout from his holiday, his exit from that job is not a surprise.”

She went on: “Sending him to Justice is a match for his legal experience, he was a minister there before, and a senior lawyer. But the fact that it took a couple of hours suggests that he was not exactly thrilled with the move.”

The BBC’s political editor’s description of the top Tory as a “senior lawyer” did not go unnoticed online, with social media users accusing Kuenssberg of parroting lines she had been fed by the government. 

Many in the legal profession also pointed out its inaccuracy.

David Allen Green, a law blogger and contributor to the Financial Times, commented: “In no meaningful sense was Raab a 'senior lawyer' - and this is false/misleading from @bbclaurak

“He trained at a City firm and then was a junior government lawyer, and left practice of law altogether at about 6 years experience.

“This is not a partisan point: it is simply untrue.”

He added: "The 'senior lawyer' line has been fed by a source to @bbclaurak, and it has been repeated as fact without any checking."

Raab trained for two years at Linklaters, an elite law firm in London. After serving a mandatory training contract at the firm, he left to join the Foreign Office in a legal position shortly after qualifying as a solicitor in 2000.

The Secret Barrister, an anonymous author and reportedly a junior barrister, wrote: “Your reminder that Raab has never been a ‘senior lawyer’. He was recently qualified when he entered politics.

“As Brexit Secretary he thought it unnecessary to read the 35-page Good Friday Agreement. If Justice Secretary is ‘a match for his legal experience’, god help us.”

They added: “I am no BBC-basher, but this sort of lazy misinformation does its reputation no favours.”

Byline Times’s Peter Jukes called on the BBC to issue a correction, while SNP councillor Tony Gurney commented: “This is, to put it mildly, completely false.

“The idea that he’s a senior lawyer was fed to her and parroted uncritically. The licence fee payers deserve better.”

Musician John Spiers quipped: “Who among us hasn’t at some time got ‘senior lawyer’ and ‘serial liar’ mixed up when representing the BBC at the very highest level?”

Other responses called on Kuenssberg to delete her tweet and issue a correction, neither of which she has yet done.

The BBC has been approached for comment.