Joan Rivers writes off Sam Cameron

Does the US comedienne Joan Rivers have any idea what the Tory leader David Cameron's wife Samantha (pictured) does for a living? Perhaps if she did, she may not have taken a light-hearted swipe at Smythsons, the upmarket London stationers of which Sam is director, in the Christmas issue of the conservative house journal, the Spectator.

"With the recession I can't afford the luxury of fancy stationery and stamps," writes Rivers in the magazine's diary, "and as I am a very green person, every time I weaken and start to write a thank-you note I then think 'NO'. I will not be part of killing a tree for etiquette.

"...I mean, is it worth it to write a proper thank-you note when you realise these simple unnoticed daily acts are killing our planet? Smythson should be shut down."

No doubt Samantha, who has introduced the distinctly non-recession-busting £950 'Nancy' handbag to Smythsons, will be writing a letter to the Spectator’s editor, Matthew d'Ancona, to put across the equally compelling pro-thank-you-letter-writing side of the equation. ·