Mum-of-two Lucy Connolly, 41, was jailed after she pleaded guilty to stirring up racial hatred when she posted a message on X amid the unrest following the Southport riots last summer
The wife of an ex-Tory councillor who was jailed for vile posts amid the riots following the Southport murders will be freed in weeks.
Mum-of-two Lucy Connolly posted an expletive-filled post on the day Bebe King, 6, Alice Aguiar, 9, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, were brutally murdered by Axel Rudakubana, 18, during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the Merseyside town.
Connolly posted on July 29 last year: “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.” It was viewed more than 300,000 times in about three-and-a-half hours on X (formerly Twitter) before Connolly deleted it.
Connolly is reportedly due to be released from HMP Peterborough next month, subject to conditions. The 41-year-old was told to serve 40 per cent of her sentence behind bars before being released on licence.
One of Connolly’s pals said she would be “with a glass of Whispering Angel in hand” this time in August, reports the Evening Standard.
Her comments came amid a wave of unrest across the country with migrants being targeted in attacks at hotels. There were also several clashes with police in cities and towns in England.
Connolly, the wife of former councillor Raymond who served on the West Northamptonshire Council, was jailed for 31 months after she previously intending to stir up racial hatred. She was remanded in custody following her first court appearance on August 10, last year.
During a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, it was revealed Connolly shared a WhatsApp message on August 5 were she joked that the post had “bitten me on the a***, lol.” The court heard Connolly, who had no prior convictions, sent another post that commented on the attack, which read: “I bet my house it was one of these boat invaders.”
Rudakubana was not a recent Channel crossing migrant and was born in the UK to parents who arrived in the UK following the Rwanda genocide. Judge Melbourne Inman KC said the 31-month prison sentence had been intended to “punish and deter,” with Connolly pleading guilty.
Critics have argued Connolly’s punishment was too harsh with right-wing ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman stating she was a victim of a “politicised two-tier justice system.” Former Prime Minister Liz Truss hit out at the sentencing, branding it “unjustifiable.”
Connolly lost her appeal against the sentence at the Court of Appeal, with Lord Justice Holroyde rejecting the suggestion it had been “manifestly excessive.” Connolly previously said she “never” wanted to stir up violence and stated she was not aware pleading guilty would mean she accepted she had done so.