Abstract: The highest energies of solar energetic nucleons detected in space or through gamma-ray emission in the solar atmosphere are in the GeV range. Where and how the particles are accelerated is still controversial. We search for observational evidence on the acceleration region(s) by comparing the timing of relativistic protons detected at Earth and radiative signatures in the solar atmosphere during the particularly well observed 2005 Jan 20 event. This investigation focusses on the post-impulsive flare phase, where a second peak was observed in the relativistic proton time profile by neutron monitors. This time profile is compared in detail with UV imaging and radio spectrography over a broad frequency band from the low corona to interplanetary space.It is shown that the late relativistic proton release to interplanetary space was accompanied by a distinct new episode of energy release and electron acceleration in the corona traced by the radio emission and by brightenings of UV kernels. These signatures are interpreted in terms of magnetic restructuring in the corona after the CME passage. We attribute the delayed relativistic proton acceleration to magnetic reconnection and possibly turbulence in large- scale coronal loops. While type II radio emission was observed in the high corona, no evidence of a temporal relationship with the relativistic proton acceleration was found.