Politician's wife Lucy Connolly jailed for race hate post

Lucy Connolly was in custody at HMP Peterborough before the hearing took place.

The spouse of a Conservative council member has been sentenced to 31 months in prison for making statements encouraging the burning of hotels that accommodate asylum seekers.

Lucy Connolly, whose spouse is a member of the West Northamptonshire Council, shared a profanity-laced post on X on the same day that three girls lost their lives in Southport.

The 41-year-old babysitter demanded immediate mass deportation, stating, "If that makes me a racist, then so be it."

Judge Melbourne Inman KC informed Birmingham Crown Court that the purpose of the sentence for these crimes was to both "punish and discourage."

During the hearing, it was revealed that Connolly, who lives on Parkfield Avenue in Northampton, sent a WhatsApp message on August 5th, joking that her tweet to her 10,000 followers had come back to haunt her, laughing about it.

Connolly had earlier acknowledged that he planned to incite racial animosity.

As he began the case, prosecutor Naeem Valli mentioned that Connolly had also communicated her plan to secretly continue working during her notice period as a childminder, even though she had been officially de-registered.

Mr. Valli continued, saying, "She mentions that if she were to be taken into custody, she would use her mental health situation as an excuse."

The court learned that Connolly, who had not been convicted of any crimes before, posted another tweet about a sword attack, stating: "I would wager my house that it was one of those boat arrivals."

Another post from Connolly on X, reacting to a video shared by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, stated "I assume it's Somalian" and included a vomiting emoji.

Connolly attended the court session through a video link from HMP Peterborough, while her husband, councillor Raymond Connolly, observed the proceedings from the audience.

Raymond Connolly, a Conservative councillor from West Northamptonshire, is shown here during a previous court appearance.

Liam Muir, representing Connolly, mentioned that she had tragically lost a child under very terrible circumstances. He pointed out that she was different from other offenders who used social media, as her tweet, which was central to the case, was posted before any violence against asylum seekers had begun.

Mr. Muir explained to the court that the terrible circumstances surrounding her son's death, particularly being denied help from the healthcare system, are bound to have an extremely negative impact on a person.

No matter what her purpose was in sharing that controversial tweet, the situation escalated quickly and caught her off guard. She didn't foresee the backlash and promptly took steps to calm things down.

Connolly attended Birmingham Crown Court for sentencing through a video connection from HMP Peterborough.

In delivering the verdict, Judge Inman informed the court that Connolly's tweet, which garnered 310,000 views, was meant to provoke significant violence.

"When you released those statements, you knew just how unpredictable the situation was," he remarked.

This instability resulted in significant chaos, characterized by senseless acts of violence.

Connolly was dressed in a blue short-sleeved shirt and seemed indifferent throughout much of the hearing, occasionally brushing her hair back.

The judge took into account the mitigating circumstances and acknowledged Connolly's positive past behavior, as well as the fact that she did not reiterate her statement.

Connolly was sentenced to serve 40% of her 31-month prison term, after which she will be released on probation.

Lucy Connolly has been sentenced to 31 months in prison by a judge at Birmingham Crown Court.

Det Ch Supt Rich Tompkins, who leads the crime and justice division at Northamptonshire Police, expressed his hope that the sentencing would show that law enforcement treats such reports with utmost seriousness.

"We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that our communities feel secure and free from the threat of violence," he stated.

"If you've experienced a hate crime, please reach out to us so we can look into it. Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected, regardless of their identity."