The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided not to appeal a decision that saw former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Ryan Beckwith fined rather than banned or suspended.

In October, Beckwith, who stood accused of engaging in sexual activity with a junior colleague without her consent, was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay costs to the tune of £200,000.

Many in the industry had expected the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to either suspend or ban Beckwith. However, in its list of reasons for its decision, published earlier this month, the tribunal had said that its judgment was justified on the grounds that Beckwith posed no future threat to the public, and that the incident was a "one-off".

Following October's hearing, the SRA had indicated that it would consider appealing the ruling on inspection of the SDT's reasons. However, following 21 days of deliberation, the SRA today decided that it would not pursue the matter further.

In a statement the SRA said: "We are committed to tackling the issue of sexual harassment, including taking disciplinary action and ensuring law firms meet their obligations to create a culture where this is not tolerated.

"We refer allegations of serious misconduct to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and it is they who reach findings and decide on sanctions. We are able to appeal their decisions if specific legal grounds are met. Following a review of the judgement in this case and having taken legal advice, we have decided not to appeal."