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Jeremy Corbyn’s bodyguards thwarted a robbery when they tackled a would-be thief thought to be armed with a knife.

The incident unfolded on Saturday after the Labour leader had been campaigning in east London.

He had left but his armed protection officers, who have been by his side when he is out on official campaign events, were still nearby.

They intervened and prevented the robbery, a source said.

Corbyn had been campaigning in Hackney on Saturday, starting the day playing football with local children.

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Mr Corbyn did some coaching before practising his close control and passing with the kids.

The Labour leader then went in goal as the youngsters took penalties.

Speaking after the session, Mr Corbyn defended Labour's policy of making Premier League clubs divert five per cent of TV rights revenue to grassroots football, after the league insisted it already spends seven per cent of the money in that way.

(Image: AFP)

He then headed off to Wembley to see his beloved Arsenal beat Chelsea in the FA Cup Final, before returning to East London to attend a campaign event in a local bar, alongside John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and Shami Chakrabarti.