Labour were left embarrassed tonight after it was forced to remove a signatory to a letter of support after she was exposed as a benefit cheat who had swindled nearly £30,000. Campaign chiefs attempted to rebuff a letter from 100 business leaders that criticised the party by publishing its own message calling for a Labour government signed by people ‘from all walks of life’. The signatories, who said they were ‘all working people’, warned about the ‘proliferation of zero-hours contracts’ they claimed were ‘letting down Britain’ and showed that ‘we need a Labour Government to put working people first’. Labour attempted to rebuff a letter from 100 business leaders that criticised the party by publishing its own message calling for a Labour government signed by people ‘from all walks of life’ But within hours the plan was in chaos as it was found the signatories included a benefit fraudster, trade unionists and the cigar-smoking children of millionaires. 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. A court in Manchester heard that the woman 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 as she was subject to ‘immigration control’, but she submitted a tax credits application and a child benefit claim for three children, two of whom didn’t live with her. The court heard that she moved in with a new partner but claimed £27,888 tax credits in two and a half years as a single person. David Cameron, visiting pupils during his visit to King's Leadership Academy in Warrington today, hailed the business letter in support of the Tories . She was caught after she applied for leave to remain in Britain on the basis of her ‘marriage’. Officers found that 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 a 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 last night said: ‘More than 6,000 people have now signed our letter from all walks of life across the country. Former Red or Dead boss Wayne Hemingway was among the signatories . ‘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.’ Other signatories included 21-year-old Manchester University students John-Jo Pierce and Rory Somerville. The pair said they were both working on zero hours contracts but their Facebook pages included photographs of them smoking cigars whilst dressed in black tie. Mr Pierce, who is studying maths, is registered on the electoral roll at his parents’ £1million house in woodland near Leatherhead, Surrey. His mother Deirdre, 55, yesterday said that 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 register 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 that it was just a ‘joke’ sign that was a reference to the U.S. 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 about Breaking Bad.’ Mr Somerville did not respond to a request to comment.
Signatory to letter backing Labour was given suspended sentence .
Cannot be named for legal reasons but Labour has removed her from list .
Arrived in UK in 2007 after 'marriage of convenience' and claimed benefits .
Received £30,000 in benefits even though she was barred from claiming .