News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Jeremy Corbyn has joined Arsenal fans calling for all workers involved with the club to earn the living wage.

The Arsenal-loving Labour leader donned a red and white scarf with mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan during today's protest outside the Emirates stadium, in his London cosntituency.

Travelling straight from two Remembrance Day services , the campaigning MP posed for photos ahead of the Gunners' derby clash with bitter rivals Tottenham.

And he spoke up despite loving Arsenal so much he once signed a Parliamentary motion calling them 'the best club football team in the world' .

Arsenal do pay at least the £9.40-an-hour London living wage to all staff directly employed by them.

But campaigners say some people who work for the club through third parties, as contractors for example, do not receive as much.

Read more:

(Image: John Walton/PA Wire)

Gary Doolan of the GMB union, which is supporting the protest, said: "Arsenal is a very wealthy football club with stars paid millions of pounds a year so it can afford to pay cleaners, caterers and security staff a living wage."

The living wage rose last week by 25p to £9.40 in London, and by 40p to £8.25 in the rest of the UK.

That makes the London rate more than £2 higher than George Osborne's so-called 'national living wage', which will see over-25s paid £7.20 an hour from April rising to £9 in 2020.

(Image: Nigel French/PA Wire)

Arsenal defended its pay policy and said discussions with contractor firms - over whose wages it has no control - were 'ongoing'.

A club spokesman said: "We pay all our people good rates which are above the London Living Wage.

"This includes permanent and fixed term employees and workers. As an example, match day stewards are paid £9.50p an hour. This means that rates for all our employees already exceed the Government's 2020 national living wage target.

(Image: John Walton/PA Wire)

"It also goes beyond the Premier League’s recent resolution which we fully supported.

"In terms of third party contractors, pay conditions form part of our renewal discussions as those contracts come up for renewal. Our recent maintenance contract with CBRE, for example, contains an undertaking by CBRE that their employees are paid at least the London Living Wage.

"Pay conditions will form a part of the discussion when our cleaning contract comes up for renewal and are included in on-going discussions with our caterers."