The Tories have confirmed that “have spoken to” one of of their celebrity candidates after she liked what critics describe as antisemitic material online.
Rose Hulse, a former figure skater who married aristocrat Richard Hulse, liked posts on social media referring to a Jewish candidate as a “fiend of Israel” [sic], and another that said Starmer was “tap dancing to #AntiSemitismIsAllThatMatters”.
Ms Hulse, who is now a social media streaming entrepreneur orginally from the US, has apologised for liking the tweets but Mike Katz, chair of Jewish Labour Movement, has called for her to be investigated.
In May this year, the parliamentary candidate for Bristol North East liked a tweet that described Keir Starmer as a “double crossing political prostitute who went from bending the knee at #BlackLivesMatter to tap dancing to #AntisemitismIsAllThatMatters”.
In the same month, she liked a tweet referring to Damian Egan, a Jewish Labour parliamentary candidate standing against her in Bristol, as “your fiend of Israel”.
She also replied to a tweet that said “the Labour Party is a Zionist sympathiser” and that “Keir Zionist Starmer and his cronies must be removed from Labour leadership as they protect Israel’s interest”, with the line: “I am no fan of Labour and do not support their views.”
Mr Katz said: “This is hugely problematic, even before you consider this candidate is running against a Jewish Labour MP. The comments Rose Hulse interacts with are antisemitic.
“Given the speed with which it condemns antisemitism in Labour, the Conservative Party needs to investigate and take action urgently. This needs to be above party politics.”
In a statement, Ms Hulse said: “The tweet referenced was clicked in error. As soon as I realised, I immediately deselected the tweet. I apologise for any offence caused.”
She also made it clear she had been angered by Labour’s treatment of Diane Abbott, who was suspended for months over an allegedly antisemitic letter she wrote to The Guardian suggesting Jews could not suffer racism and had faced been barred from standing for Labour again.
Ms Hulse said: “As a woman, who has also endured extreme racism in my life, I am deeply saddened and upset by these characterisations, which are entirely false.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “We have spoken to this candidate.”
Ms Hulse has previously been in the spotlight for her life in high society after falling for a British aristocrat, George Hulse, part of a baronetcy that dates back to the 17th century.
Her Georgian home has been featured on the cover of House and Garden magazine, photos from her 2017 wedding featured in Tatler and she has featured as a brand ambassador for Tiffany. She founded company ScreenHits TV, which allows viewers to bring streaming platforms such as Netflix into one app.
She has also appeared as a commentator on Royal issues including the Duchess of Sussex’s “Megxit”.
Hulse has previously written about “unconscious prejudice” she has faced in business, telling Grazia in 2020: “For all the women that look like me, I know how hard it is. I know how demeaning the VCs [venture capitalists] can make us feel or how the industry can shut the door in our face when we are presenting an amazing product.”
