Labour Councillors' law firm paid employee less than minimum wage

A law firm owned by two Labour councillors in Coventry has been taken to a tribunal for paying an employee just £2.97 per hour.

Deputy leader of Coventry City Council, Cllr Phil Townshend and fellow councillor, Abdul Khan, paid a litigation assistant just £20 a day for two years through their law firm, The Law Partnership Solicitors LLP. They agreed to pay him £4,000 following a preliminary hearing last year but Aaron Matthews claims they owe him £9,995 in unpaid wages.

Cllr Townshend's previous law firm, Townshends LLP, went into liquidation two years ago owing £339k to the taxman so he joined Khan's firm as a partner. One of the key pledges of his Labour administration is to tackle poverty caused by low wages.