Rihanna turns on Christmas lights in east London

If you’re being paid £500,000 (Dh2.9 million) for half an hour’s work, turning up on time is surely the least you can do.

Alas, nobody seems to have given Rihanna that particular lesson in courtesy.

The singer was more than an hour late on Monday as she arrived at Westfield shopping centre in East London to switch on the Christmas lights.

Young fans had already shivered in the cold for hours, having queued from as early as midnight to pick up a wristband for the free event. Rihanna, 24, took part in a five-minute question and answer session, sang her number one hit Diamonds, and was then promptly whisked off in a golf buggy.

She was reportedly paid in excess of £500,000 for the appearance. A spokesman for Westfield refused to comment on the exact fee.