Woman jailed over ‘racist’ migrant resort tweet after Southport stabbings ‘is denied momentary launch to see daughter, 12, and ailing husband’
A woman who was jailed for two years after she tweeted about the Southport riots has been denied temporary leave to see her 12-year-old daughter and sick husband.
Lucy Connolly, 42, is currently serving a 31-month sentence for a post made last summer where she spoke of mass deportations and setting fire to asylum hotels ‘for all I care’.
The comments came in the wake of the knife attack on a Southport dance class on July 29 in which three children were killed, and in the midst of false claims the attacker was an illegal immigrant.
Connolly’s post, which she later deleted, read: ‘Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the b******s for all I care…’
She later added: ‘If that makes me racist, so be it.’
The childminder, from Northampton, was subsequently arrested and put behind bars.
But now police chiefs are being 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.
Lucy Connolly was jailed over a social media post where she said: ‘Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the b******s for all I care…’
The 41-year-old since deleted her post and blamed it on ‘a moment of extreme outrage and emotion’ when she was acting on ‘false and malicious’ information
Serious violence and rioting by demonstrators broke out on the streets in Rotherham following the Southport attacks
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.
Lucy Connolly’s Conservative councillor husband Raymond Connolly, pictured outside Northampton Crown Court, watched in court as she pleaded guilty to stirring up racial hatred
Protesters try to cram into the migrant hotel through a damaged fire exit in Rotherham
Police officers stand near the broken windows of the hotel in Rotherham during an anti-immigration protest
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.’
The judge who passed sentenced on Connolly had said when she published her words online that the mother had been ‘well aware how volatile the situation was’.
‘That volatility led to serious disorder where mindless violence was used’, the judge added.
Connolly had encouraged activity that threatened or endangered life, the court heard.
Birmingham Crown Court heard further investigations by police had found other messages from Connolly in which she referred to illegal immigrants as ‘boat invaders’.
Birmingham Crown Court heard further investigations by police had found other messages from Connolly in which she referred to illegal immigrants as ‘boat invaders’
However, speaking after her guilty plea, Mr Connolly said the last few weeks had been ‘quite traumatic’ for his wife and children – and that he now feels ‘kind of relieved’.
In one message, a week after her original post on X, it revealed she was aware of the public backlash, and with Ofsted being tagged, she said she would tell the education watchdog she had been the victim of doxing – where private or identifying information about an individual is published online.
Connolly added that if she was arrested, she would ‘play the mental health card’.
The court heard Connolly was arrested the next day, on August 6, and told police she made the post which initially saw her arrested because the Southport children had died in ‘horrific’ circumstances.
She said she had also lost her own son in horrific circumstances and this had ‘triggered’ her. She said she felt that children were not safe, but later took the tweet down because she realised it was wrong.
Connolly admitted having strong views on immigration and did not like illegal immigrants and wanted them ‘gone’ because they were ‘unchecked’ and denied their race or religion was a factor.
She told officers she was horrified when rioters started setting fire to hotels, as happened in Rotherham on August 4.
Prosecutor Naeem Valli told the court Connolly was bailed, only for officers to receive a further report highlighting other ‘tweets by Mrs Connolly which appeared to be racist’.
The aftermath of violent disorder in Hull city centre which saw rioters tear through the shopping district
The court heard although Connolly had deleted her account, some of her posts could still be seen after they were shared to other users of the platform.
Since the verdict, there have been claims Connolly was a victim of ‘two-tier justice’ and that her sentence was disproportionate.
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said: ‘Lucy is the victim of two-tier justice because she is white and Sir Keir Starmer ordered the judiciary to impose stiff sentences last August. It is as simple as that.’
Prison service bosses have denied Connolly’s application for release on temporary licence had been blocked and said it was being considered by the governor at HMP Drake Hall in Staffordshire, to which the 42-year-old has recently been transferred.
A spokesman said: ‘Decisions on release on temporary licence and home detention curfew are made following uncompromising risk assessments to prioritise public safety.
‘These are discretionary schemes, and each case is rigorously scrutinised, considering the severity of the offence, the prisoner’s conduct and the potential impact on victims and the community.’
It is believed Connolly has qualifed for an enhanced regime, a reward for good behaviour.
Her application for temporary release at her previous prison, HMP Peterborough, was delayed until a risk assessment was done, probation documents have suggested.
Three girls were killed at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class, including Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven
Bebe King (left), six, was also killed in the horror attack in Southport in July, along with Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine (right)
Axel Rudakubana (pictured), 18, and from the Lancashire village of Banks, was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for her murder
An internal note said: ‘It is not necessarily going to happen due to the public interest’ while another added, ‘the media interest has been raised as an issue in terms of any future ROTL applications’.
Connolly is currently seeking to appeal against her sentence, with a hearing due on May 15.
Her barrister, Adam King, is expected to argue the judge miscategorised her offence, with a sentence wrongly based on intending to incite serious violence.
He is expected to argue there was insufficient weight placed on mitigating factors such as an unblemished record, positive good character references, and other messages she had sent saying violence was not the answer.
Last year, a father-of-three was also jailed at Northampton Crown Court for 38 months on August 9 after re-posting part of Connolly’s X message.
Tyler Kay, 26, of Ellfield Court, Northampton, admitted a charge of publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred.
Passing sentence on Kay after he pleaded guilty, Judge Lucking told him: ‘You posted as you did because you thought there were no consequences for yourself from stirring up racial hatred in others.
‘The overall tone of the posts clearly reveals your fundamentally racist mindset.
‘I am sure that when you intentionally created the posts you intended that racial hatred would be stirred up by your utterly repulsive, racist and shocking posts that have no place in a civilised society.’
Three young girls, Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, were killed in the Southport attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance session in July. Eight other children and two adults were injured in the July 29 rampage.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, and from the Lancashire village of Banks, was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for her murder.
