Tory councillor's wife to fight 31-month jail term for social media rant about migrants on day of Southport attack
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The wife of a former Conservative councillor who was jailed for 31 months after an online rant about migrants on the day of the Southport attacks is due to have a bid to appeal against the sentence heard on Thursday.
Lucy Connolly said in an X post on July 29: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care... if that makes me racist so be it.'
The post followed three girls being stabbed and killed at a holiday club in Southport on July 29, sparking nationwide unrest.
It was viewed 310,000 times in three-and-a-half hours before Connolly deleted it.
The former childminder, who is married to Raymond Connolly, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court last October after pleading guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred.
Her tweet was widely condemned as abhorrent - but her sentence has been a lightning rod for criticism from some campaigners.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is calling for Connolly’s release, has said: 'The severity of her sentence is completely unjustifiable and a shocking example of two-tier justice which now prevails in Britain.'
Lucy Connolly's bid to challenge her sentence is due to be heard at the Court of Appeal in London on Thursday, according to court listings.
Mr Connolly had been a Tory West Northamptonshire councillor, but lost his seat in May.
The 42-year-old, of Northampton, was arrested on August 6 and police officers found other posts on her phone with racist remarks.
She had also sent a tweet commenting on a sword attack, which read: 'I bet my house it was one of these boat invaders.'
Sentencing her, the Recorder of Birmingham, Judge Melbourne Inman KC, said Connolly was 'well aware how volatile the situation was', adding that she had encouraged activity which threatened or endangered life.
Last month police chiefs were criticised for denying Connolly temporary leave, as she has been waiting four months to secure release.
This is despite one prison expert describing her as the 'ideal candidate' for such a scheme.
Documents suggest Connolly has not yet been granted the leave due to concerns over public and media interest in her case as opposed to any apparent failure to meet the criteria for temporary release, The Telegraph reports.
Connolly had cited apparent deterioration in her daughter's behaviour at school, saying this was 'totally out of character'.
She also referenced stress being placed on her sick husband, Ray, a Conservative councillor for West Northamptonshire who is suffering from bone marrow failure.
The 42-year-old had taken her 'racist' post down within four hours when she uploaded it last summer but this was not before it had been viewed 310,000 times and screenshots taken.
She was interviewed by police on August 6 and charged three days later, remaining in jail since as she pleaded guilty before her sentencing in October.
Connolly has been eligible for release on temporary licence since last November, based on her prison time served.
The system is open to inmates as a way to 'rebuild family ties', allowing for up to two overnight home stays a month.
Only category A prisoners, many of which serve time for violent, terrorist and sexual crimes, those formally listed as escape risks, and suspects failing extradition are excluded under prison rules.
Speaking on the process, Ian Acheson, a former prison governor who has advised the Government on extremism in jails, told The Telegraph he was 'concerned' by the 'apparent foot-dragging over consideration for release on temporary licence'.
He said: 'It can't be right that someone who is otherwise eligible is not being considered because of either the prison's failure to properly risk assess or her "notoriety".
'In my opinion, and given the offence details and the background to her custodial behaviour I have seen, she ought to be an ideal candidate for early release to allow her reintegration to start.
'Many more risky individuals are walking free as a result of Labour's emergency mass release legislation.'
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