Zero-hours worker? University John-Jo Pierce enjoys a cigar . Labour's efforts to fight off accusations of hypocrisy on zero-hours contracts were in chaos last night. Party chiefs had scrambled to shore up support for Ed Miliband after it emerged that dozens of Labour councils and MPs employ staff on the controversial contracts, which he has pledged to ban. In a further blow, Parliament’s expenses watchdog rejected claims by Labour MPs that they employ staff on zero hours only because they are forced to by the Westminster system. And Labour’s biggest donor Unite also lost a humiliating tribunal ruling over an employee who claims he was sacked for complaining about being employed on a zero-hours basis. On Wednesday, Mr Miliband vowed to end the ‘epidemic’ of zero-hours contracts – and blasted the Tories for failing to protect ordinary workers. But he was accused of ‘total hypocrisy’ on the issue after it emerged 68 of his MPs – including Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls – had employed staff on that basis in the past two years. Labour councils, including Mr Miliband’s own authority in Doncaster, have also issued 22,000 of the contracts. As the revelations emerged, party chiefs engineered a letter, signed by 100 workers and employers from ‘all walks of life’, that was also designed as a riposte to a letter signed by dozens of business leaders who backed the Tories this week. But the move backfired spectacularly last night after it emerged the signatories included a benefit fraudster, a boss who has used zero-hours workers, affluent students and a string of union and party activists. They include: . BENEFITS FRAUDSTER . One of the signatories identified herself as someone who had ‘worked on [a] zero-hours contract’, but Labour removed her name yesterday after it was revealed she had been convicted of benefit fraud in 2012. Scroll down for video . A court in Manchester heard that Kemi Saidu, 43, moved to Britain after she had a ‘marriage of convenience’ in Nigeria in December 2007. According to tax officials she lived with her ‘husband’, who was the holder of a British passport, ‘briefly or not at all’. She was not entitled to benefits because she was subject to ‘immigration control’, but she submitted a tax credits application and a child benefit claim for three children, two of whom did not live with her. The court heard that she moved in with a new partner but claimed £27,888 in tax credits in two and a half years as a single person. Boss: Fashion designer Wayne Hemingway, whose firm employed intern on zero-hours contracts, and Harrods fan Tunji Offeyi, from Tooting, south London, who had treated himself to some perfume . She was caught after she applied for leave to remain in Britain on the basis of her ‘marriage’. Officers found she had been fraudulently claiming benefits and had allowed others to use her name and national insurance number to work illegally in the UK. In July 2012 she was given a two-year suspended jail sentence and 150-hour community work order after she pleaded guilty to immigration and fraud charges along with her ‘husband’ who had been working at HMRC as a security officer. A Labour spokesman said last night: ‘More than 6,000 people have now signed our letter from all walks of life across the country. ‘Of course we were unaware of the background of this person. The fact still remains that the epidemic of zero-hours contracts are a symbol of the failure of this Government’s economic plan.’ CIGAR-SMOKING STUDENTS . Other signatories included 21-year-old Manchester University students John-Jo Pierce and Rory Somerville. Facebook pages of the pair – who said they were working zero-hours contracts – included photographs of them smoking cigars whilst dressed in black tie. Black tie: Rory Somerville, aged 19, pictured at a university ball . Mr Pierce, who is studying maths, is registered on the electoral roll at his mother's £1million house which is set in woodland near Leatherhead, Surrey. His mother Deirdre, 55, yesterday said he was ‘just a kid’ who ‘knows nothing about politics’ but had signed the letter after he was asked to by a fellow university student ‘he vaguely knows’. She told the Mail: ‘All he did was sign a petition that somebody called Andrea asked everybody to sign. He knows a little but not much. It’s the first time he’s been interested in an election.’ She declined to discuss what work he was doing on a zero- hours contract. Mr Somerville, who is in his final year studying economics, is registered to vote at his mother's house, in an affluent area of Belfast. Mr Pierce was also photographed at a party in front of a sign that said ‘Drugz Room’, but Mrs Pierce said it was just a ‘joke’ sign that was a reference to the US television programme Breaking Bad. She said: ‘John-Jo has never done drugs in his life. It’s a joke about Breaking Bad. That’s what people of that age do. They all make jokes.’ Mr Somerville did not respond to a request to comment. The ZERO-HOURS BOSS . Fashion designer Wayne Hemingway went into meltdown on live television after it was pointed out that his own firm took on interns on a zero-hours basis. Mr Hemingway, co-founder of the fashion label Red or Dead, was one of the few business figures willing to put their name to Labour’s letter. He said he had agreed to sign up ‘because I want to see a party that starts to commit to reducing the inequality gap’. But he became angry when BBC reporter Tim Willcox pointed out that his own firm had advertised for staff on a zero-hours basis. Mr Hemingway said the policy had now changed, adding: ‘It is in the past – we have changed. Are we not allowed to change? We realised it was wrong and we changed two years ago.’ He said there was a big difference between using unpaid interns and employing someone on zero-hours. Yesterday, the firm said it still takes on unpaid interns on a short-term basis, although those staying longer are offered payment. HARRODS SHOPPER . Last night, it was revealed that trade union officials had hurriedly tried to persuade supporters to sign the pro-Labour letter just hours after the critical letter from business leaders had been published. Tunji Offeyi, from Tooting, South London, who had previously worked on a zero-hours contract as a hospital porter, said he got an email from Unite on Wednesday. Party chiefs  scrambled to shore up support for Ed Miliband after it emerged dozens of Labour councils and MPs employ staff on zero-hour contracts . His Facebook page showed him posing with a Harrods shopping bag in December last year. Mr Offeyi last night said he had not been on a zero-hours contract at the time and had treated himself to some perfume. Others listed as workers on zero- hours contracts included Stacey Booth, an administration assistant at Leeds Council, who is a convenor for the GMB union. Another signatory, Rema Boumerdassi, was found to be a member of the shop workers union Usdaw. Her Twitter page describes her as a single parent and shows her and other union members posing with Russell Brand. Baris Yerli also said he used to work on a zero-hours contract, but his online CV revealed his other former jobs included working as a political office assistant at Unite. LABOUR LUVVIES . The letter claimed to be from people from ‘all walks of life’ but among the signatories were Labour councillors and a former MP. Derek Wyatt, 65, was MP for Sittingbourne but stood down at the last election. Others included Stephanie Elsy, the former Labour leader of Southwark Council who now runs her own political consultancy, and Kevin Craig, who is a Labour representative on Lambeth Council. Billy Boyle, the scientist husband of Kate Gross, a former No10 aide who ran Tony Blair’s Africa charity and died on Christmas Day aged 36, was also a signatory of the letter. EX-BBC BOSS . Sir Michael Lyons, a former chairman of the BBC Trust, was among signatories to the letter – despite his own high earnings and questions over his role in approving fatcat pay-offs at the Corporation. In 2013, he faced a grilling from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee over pay-offs, including a £1million package for outgoing director-general Mark Byford in 2011. At the BBC, Sir Michael’s salary was £131,000, despite the fact he worked a four-day week. His jobs since leaving the broadcaster have included a lucrative role on the board of construction firm Mouchel, where he was interim chairman on a £300,000 salary for a time. He is also an ex-Labour councillor and wrote a report for Ed Miliband in his role as his housing guru. THE PLUS SIZED BLOGGER . Callie Thorpe is listed on the letter as a receptionist, but online she also describes herself as a ‘plus-size style and lifestyle blogger, fan of lipsticks, food, travel and self love’. The 25-year-old, who lives in London, wrote on her web page: ‘Travelling the world has always been a passion of mine, especially Thailand and I thought I would share with you the best five weeks of my life hoping that I can impart some knowledge if you too are looking to travel around Thailand or Cambodia.’ She has also posted photographs of trips to Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam. She is a size 18 to 20.
Ed Miliband accused of ‘hypocrisy’ after 68 MPs used zero-hour contracts . 100 workers and employers from ‘all walks of life’ signed letter backing Ed . But signatories included affluent students and union and party activists . John-Jo Pierce and Rory Somerville both pictured in black tie with cigars . Wayne Hemingway, Red or Dead co-founder, has used zero-hour contracts . A picture caption in an earlier version of this article wrongly stated that Rory Somerville is 31 years old. We are happy to clarify that Mr Somerville is 21 and was aged 19 in the photo. The caption also wrongly attributed comments said by Deirdre Pierce about her son, John-Jo, to Mr Somerville's mother.