BLP has ended its pay freeze and tackled the bungle which saw newly-qualified lawyers being paid more than their infuriated senior colleagues.

After the EU referendum result on 23 June, Managing Partner Lisa Mayhew told staff that BLP was not going to carry out the pay reviews that had been planned for July because of the "political and financial uncertainty" created by the vote. In an email leaked to RollOnFriday she said the "responsible and prudent thing to do" was to "defer" the reviews for four months.

Despite continuing uncertainty around what Brexit is, when it's going to happen, the soaring cost of Marmite and the diminution of Toblerone, the firm has finally completed the salary reviews.

"Excellent: political and financial certainty has finally retur...sh*t"

In addition, BLP will no longer pay its NQs more than their more senior colleagues. Before the Brexit vote, BLP promised trainees due to qualify in September that they would be paid an NQ salary of £70,000, which is £4,000 more than NQs were then being paid. When the freeze kicked in, BLP tried not to renege on its offer to the new NQs by promising them a "one-off payment" of £4,000 at Christmas. Unfortunately, 1PQEs who were stuck on £68,000 got wind of the plan, and the prospect of earning £2,000 less than their former trainees went down like a fart at a funeral. Aggrieved sources accused the firm of paying an "under the table bonus" and told RollOnFriday that the firm "faced a mutiny".

BLP management has also decided to backdate NQ and junior solicitors' pay rises. A spokesman said it would "ensure suitable gradation at the early career stages". However, unlike Trowers & Hamlins, the firm is only backdating their pay to September, not July, and only backdating more senior lawyers' pay to 1 November.