British Labour MP Chuka Umunna has come under fire for looking to hire an unpaid intern (Picture: EMPICS Entertainment)

Labour MP Chuka Umunna is under fire for advertising a year-long unpaid intern scheme whilst campaigning for fairer salaries.

Former leadership contender Chuka Umunna is currently seeking a student to work for free at his London office.

According to the advert, which was circulated to students at the University of Leeds, the post only covers travel costs and ‘maybe some additional expenses, but that’s all.’

Work responsibilities include researching a wide variety of policy issues and constituent enquiries, preparing letters and briefings and assisting in management casework.


Mr Umunna has been a long-standing critic of low paid jobs and unfair work practices.

New contact tracing app launches today after months of delays

In 2014 the former shadow business secretary tweeted: ‘We have to reduce the incidence of low paid work in Britain and our plans to strengthen the minimum wage will help us do that.’



And in May this year, he wrote: ‘The Tories pay lip service to investing in our young people, but they have made cuts at every stage of a child’s development from infant to adult.’

Kane Emerson, a student who tweeted the job ad after it was sent to him by his university, said: ‘I really admire Chuka Umunna so I was disappointed that a job opportunity I would have loved to apply to was only feasible for rich, London-based students.

‘As a Labour member it was annoying as not only is it unfair that someone’s not being paid for work but that it contradicts the labour manifesto on unpaid internships.

‘Opportunities like this are only accessible for one type of student: rich.’

Chuka has previously tweeted about low paid work (Picture: Chuka Umunna/Twitter)

The internship advert comes as the government steps up efforts to get rid of unpaid internships.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has written to more than 500 firms in recent months reminding them that interns classed as workers must be paid the minimum wage.

And it’s not the first time Mr Umunna has faced criticism over the issue.

He was again branded a hypocrite in 2013 for campaigning for the living wage while advertising for an unpaid internship.

Mr Umunna took to Twitter to defend the advert.

Chuka Umunna was a former Labour leader front runner (Picture: PA Wire)

He said: ‘The Leeds University placement is a structured part of politics sandwich-course degrees at the university, and takes place on the strict condition that students receive Student Finance throughout.

‘The scheme, and others like it, are run collaboratively by MPs and universities, and gives students supported work experience as part of their university degree.

‘In addition to the Student Finance students receive while undertaking a placement, as detailed in the advert, my office will reimburse travel expenses for a student travel card to minimise expenses.

‘I do not and would not offer a long-term placement where a student is not supported and left financially penalised.

‘Unfortunately, IPSA do not provide additional resources for MPs to recruit interns on a paid basis, though the Parliamentary Labour Party has always argued strongly for them to do so.

Kane Emerson, a Leeds uni student, tweet his disappointment at the Streatham MP (Picture: Kane Emerson/Twitter)

‘I strongly believe that interns should be paid and, for that reason, I do not have any unsupported interns working in the office despite the many requests received.



‘For many years, my office has only accepted students undertaking work experience as part of supported university schemes, or short work experience placements from the schools in my constituency.’

Mr Umunna took himself out the Labour party leadership contest in 2015, just days after entering the contest, citing the increased pressures and scrutiny that came with being a leadership candidate as the reason.

Twitter user Kane Emerson responded to Chuka’s defence of his internship (Picture: Kane Emerson/Twitter)

Twitter user Kane Emerson responded to Chuka’s defence of his internship (Picture: Kane Emerson/Twitter)

Fair pay internship campaigner Tanya de Grunwald criticised the MP for abusing the system.

She said: ‘Rightly or wrongly, there is a loophole in the minimum wage law which means students need not be paid when doing an industry placement as credit for their course.

‘So, Chuka has not broken the law.

‘However, big ethical questions remain. Is it right that this person won’t be paid, when they will clearly bring such value to Chuka – or is Chuka taking advantage of a system that allows him to?

‘Is it okay that someone else being denied this as a paid job, because Chuka can fill it with an unpaid student?

‘And why are students being asked to pay their universities over £9,000 a year in order to be sent out to work free – and is it right that universities are effectively pimping out their students to employers like this?

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust, and chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation, said ‘Around 40 per cent of young people who have carried out an internship have done so unpaid.


‘All internships over four weeks should be paid at least the minimum wage of £7.50 per hour.

‘Failure to do so prevents young people from low and moderate-income backgrounds from accessing jobs in some of the most desirable sectors such as journalism, fashion, the arts and politics.’

Chuka Umunna’s office and Leeds University were both contacted for comment.