A senior partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, one of the elite “magic circle” law firms, has told a London tribunal that claims he took advantage of a junior lawyer by initiating sexual activity in 2016 have left him feeling “devastated”.

Addressing the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal on October 4, Ryan Beckwith, a 41-year-old restructuring lawyer and a partner at Freshfields, denied an account of two events given by the woman — identified only as person A — earlier this week.