A Green Party election candidate who was related by marriage to David Cameron’s family has been forced to apologise for posting pro–Hamas propaganda – including a picture of Princess Diana doctored to show her wearing Palestinian clothing.
Clarissa Astor, a friend of royalty who used to be married to Samantha Cameron’s step–brother and is part of the Cotswolds ‘Chipping Norton set’, shared a propaganda image of a Hamas terrorist being kissed by an Israeli hostage, claimed British police are ‘in the service of Zionism’ and posted a picture of Israeli prime minister sporting a Hitler moustache.
On Saturday, after being contacted by The Mail on Sunday, Mrs Astor apologised for ‘any offence and upset’ and deleted the posts, 24 hours after her leader Zack Polanski also had to apologise for sharing online criticism of the police officers who arrested the alleged Golders Green attacker.
It has led to Mr Polanski being urged to ‘get a grip’ on the anti–Semitic ‘poison’ infecting his party after a string of Green candidates standing in Thursday’s local elections likened Jews to the Nazis, praised terror group Hamas and claimed anti–Semitic attacks are ‘false flag’ operations.
Today’s revelations highlight the extent to which the inflammatory beliefs of Mr Polanski’s followers penetrate all sections of society.
Mrs Astor, who is standing for the Greens in Westminster, lives in the heart of the ‘Chipping Norton set’ of politicians, media figures and celebrities, who include the Camerons and Jeremy Clarkson.
South African–born Mrs Astor, 53, attended the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but that didn’t stop her from posting on Instagram in 2024 a mocked–up picture of William’s mother Diana, generated by AI, showing the late princess wearing a keffiyeh scarf, which is a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Mrs Astor wrote: ‘This reminds me of a different time.’ She was rebuked by a fellow social media user, who said that Diana – unlike Hamas during the October 7 attacks – ‘would not agree with taking children as hostages’.
Clarissa Astor, a friend of royalty who used to be married to Samantha Cameron’s step–brother, is standing for the Green Party in Westminster
Pictured: A doctored image of Princess Diana wearing Palestinian clothing. Mrs Astor apologised for ‘any offence and upset’ and deleted this post and others
In March 2024, Mrs Astor posted another picture, this time of Mr Netanyahu looking like Hitler on a fake Time magazine cover. A fellow Instagram user commented: ‘Hmmm, Holocaust inversion. Very anti–Semitic of you.’
In a message posted in February 2025, Mrs Astor appeared to accept the narrative of a Hamas–staged event in which an Israeli hostage kissed his captor.
When a commenter responded: ‘Wow… You can’t be that dumb’, Astor appeared to defend the actions of Hamas by replying in reference to Israel’s actions in Gaza: ‘But starving and bombing a whole population is fine. Got it.’
In another post the same month, Mrs Astor shared a photograph of female police officers at a pro–Palestine demonstration, writing that British police were under the control of Israel.
She said: ‘On the way to authoritarianism in the service of Zionism.’ And in a May 2025 post, she wrote of Jewish Israelis: ‘The Zionists are the migrants who came to Palestine,’ adding: ‘And yes, they do have nuclear weapons. It’s well documented.’
Mrs Astor posted enthusiastically about attending a pro–Palestine march in London the previous year, which featured anti–Semitic chants. She wrote: ‘London was bathed in humanity… It was moving to be surrounded by beloved friends and kind strangers… quietly determined that truth and justice prevail.’
The social media user who originated the image of Diana has objected to its being appropriated by activists, saying: ‘Hamas supporters – I’m not even sorry for you. If your lying, manipulative, fake side wins you’ll get the world exactly as you deserve it.’
Mr Polanski was forced on Friday to apologise for sharing a ‘disgraceful’ post which criticised the police officers who arrested the alleged Golders Green attacker.
Mrs Astor, who is standing for the Greens in Westminster, lives in the heart of the ‘Chipping Norton set’ of politicians, media figures and celebrities, who include the Camerons and Jeremy Clarkson
In March 2024, Mrs Astor posted an AI picture of Mr Netanyahu looking like Hitler on a fake Time magazine cover
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: ‘One look beneath the surface of Zack Polanski’s Green Party shows a poison party, toxic to its core.’
Keir Starmer branded Mr Polanski ‘disgraceful’ and said he was ‘not fit to lead any political party’.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called Mr Polanski ‘a pound–shop Jeremy Corbyn’.
Danny Stone, chief executive of the Anti–Semitism Policy Trust, said: ‘The comments that have appeared in this candidate’s name feed the discourse which leads to the kind of violent attacks against Jews we saw in Golders Green.
‘Comparing Israelis to Nazis and suggesting people are in the ‘service of Zionism’ are racist tropes that suggest Jews are ultimately evil and powerful.
‘The Green Party should be doing better due diligence and this kind of behaviour should be a bar to candidacy.’
A Green Party spokesman said: ‘We have spoken to Clarissa about these posts and she has now deleted them. She apologises for any offence or upset that they have caused.’
Pictured: Green Party candidate Simon Anthony who compared terror group Hamas to the French Resistance and our Home Guard
Hamas ‘is like Homeguard’
By Mark Hookham and Gabriel Millard–Clothier
A Green Party candidate in May’s local elections compared terror group Hamas to the French Resistance and our Home Guard.
Simon Anthony was first exposed for making the comments before the 2024 General Election when he stood in east London – yet the Greens have selected him again in North Acton, west London.
Writing on X six months after the October 7 massacres, Mr Anthony said: ‘Hamas is terribly similar to what the Home Guard and French Resistance would have been called if the UK had lost the Second World War.’
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Further appalling messages posted by a Green candidate in Newcastle–upon–Tyne emerged this weekend. Tina Ion, who ran a social media account called ‘The real Anne Frank’, posted a picture of industrial machinery, writing: ‘Zionist juicer. Feet first of course.’
She added: ‘Israel must be eradicated. Even if it means killing every single Zionist.’
Astonishingly, the Greens refused to say whether Ms Ion had been suspended or expelled from the party. A spokesman said complaints regarding ‘social media posts by some of our local election candidates’ are being investigated.
- An earlier version of this article wrongly said that Clarissa Astor was married to and lived with Tom Astor. In fact, they have been divorced for ten years.
