Appeal for witnesses after men injured in crash in Bideford
The force said anyone with information about the collision or dashcam footage should contact them.
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Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Lucy Connolly to walk FREE: Tory Councillor's wife who was jailed last year for 'racist' Tweet during the Southport riots is being released from prison in a matter of hours
Lucy Connolly is set to walk free from prison in just a matter of hours after being jailed for writing a racist tweet during last summer's riots. The mother and former childminder has spent more than nine months behind bars after admitting making the inflammatory post on X in the wake of the Southport attacks in July last year. Connolly, who is also the wife of Tory Councillor Ray Connolly, pleaded guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred and was handed a 31-month sentence in October. The post, which she later deleted, said: '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.' She has been serving time at HMP Peterborough and had an application to have her sentence reduced rejected in May. But, the Daily Mail can now reveal that Connolly is due to be released on Thursday. The news will come as a huge boost to her husband and 12-year-old daughter as well as campaigners calling for her release. Connelly's imprisonment had prompted allegations that she was a victim of 'two-tier justice', with claims that those with right-wing views are treated more harshly than others in the UK. Connolly's X post was made just hours after killer Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls and attempted to murder 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29, sparking nationwide unrest. She was arrested on August 6, by which point she had deleted her social media account. But other messages which included other condemning remarks were uncovered by officers who seized her phone. The Southport atrocity sparked nationwide unrest, with several people - including Connolly - jailed as a result. Her tweet was viewed 310,000 times in three-and-a-half hours before she deleted it. She later pleaded guilty to distributing material with the intention of stirring up racial hatred at Birmingham Crown Court and was sentenced to 31 months in prison in October. In May, she had an appeal against her sentence refused by three Court of Appeal judges at the Royal Courts of Justice. In a written judgment, Lord Justice Holroyde, said: 'There is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive. 'The application for leave to appeal against sentence therefore fails and is refused.' He added that the principal ground of appeal 'was substantially based on a version of events put forward by the applicant which we have rejected'. Connolly argued she had been 'really angry' after the Southport attacks, but hours after posting the rant on X realised it was not an acceptable thing to say, so deleted it. She also said that news of the Southport murders had triggered her anxiety caused when her baby son, Harry, died as the result of a hospital blunder 13 years earlier. At her appeal case, Adam King, representing Connolly, asked if she had intended for anyone to set fire to asylum hotels or 'murder any politicians'. She replied: 'Absolutely not.' Naeem Valli, for the prosecution, told the court the post was a reflection of her attitude towards immigrants. At the time Mr Connolly told of the pain of his wife's long imprisonment, saying: 'The 284 days of separation have been very hard, particularly on our 12-year-old girl.' Connolly's case later became international news, with US officials saying earlier this year they are keeping tabs on developments over their 'concerns' about free speech. A State Department spokesman said in May: 'We can confirm that we are monitoring this matter. The United States supports freedom of expression at home and abroad, and remains concerned about infringements on freedom of expression.' It came after political commentator and Trump ally Charlie Kirk was made aware of Connolly's ordeal after a visit to the UK and vowed to get the US State Department involved in the process. Appearing on GB News, Kirk said: 'I am going to try and get the US State Department involved. I'm going to bring this up to Marco Rubio. I'm going to send him a text.' Kirk had been in the UK for a debate at the Oxford Union on Monday when the case of Mrs Connolly was raised. He later appeared on GB News, during which he said: 'I'm sorry, speaking as a citizen not on behalf of the US government, is this a way that a liberal democracy and ally of the United States acts? Kirk continued: 'I just find it so outrageous that she is now going to jail for two and a half years for a deleted social media post that she apologised for. As you guys (the UK) have birthed free speech to the world, you are now becoming a totalitarian country. 'I'm going to bring this up to Marco Rubio. I'm going to send him a text. This should be mentioned. It's not new.' Connolly's sentence was recently brought under the spotlight again last month after a man who abused a first class cabin crew on a flight from London was jailed for just 15-months. Recruitment tycoon Salman Iftikhar, 37, was flying in first class when he launched a vile tirade of abuse towards Virgin Atlantic staff on a flight from London Heathrow to Lahore in his homeland of Pakistan. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the sentence was evidence of 'two-tier justice', given Connolly was jailed for more than double his sentence. Mr Philp told the Mail last month: 'Iftikar was sentenced to only 15 months in prison last week for threatening an air stewardess with gang rape and for racially aggravated harassment. Iftikhar has multiple previous convictions. 'Yet Lucy Connolly got 31 months for a far less serious offence - a prosecution Lord Hermer personally authorised. 'This is two-tier justice in action. 'I have today referred the case to the Attorney General Lord Hermer for review under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. 'We'll now find out if Hermer is willing to take action to fix Britain's two-tier justice problem.'
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Brazil's Bolsonaro drafted Argentina asylum request, police allege
BRASILIA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian ex-President Jair Bolsonaro drafted a letter to Argentine President Javier Milei to request political asylum, federal police said on Wednesday. The letter had been saved on Bolsonaro's cell phone in February of last year, two days after his passport was seized, according to police. It was unclear whether it had been sent to Milei. Milei's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The document was part of the final police report that formally accused Bolsonaro and his son, Eduardo, of working to interfere in an ongoing legal process in which the former Brazilian president is on trial for plotting a coup. The trial is set to start in September. Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since earlier this month after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes found Bolsonaro failed to comply with restraining orders, including regarding the use of social media. The younger Bolsonaro, a Brazilian congressman, moved to the United States this year and has been advocating in Washington on behalf of his father. Legal representatives for the two Bolsonaros did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a Supreme Court decision based off the police report, Moraes gave Bolsonaro's layers 48 hours to clarify his repeated failure to comply with the restraining orders and his flight risk.
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Moment Cycling Mikey confronts two 'mobile phone thieves' on e-bikes before they start filming and taunting him
Controversial vigilante Cycling Mikey filmed himself confronting two suspected mobile phone thieves before they began taunting him. The Youtuber, whose real name is Michael Van Erp, uploaded footage of the tense confrontation to social media, showing him tailing a pair of e-bike riders after a supposed theft in Chiswick. One of the men, who is seen wearing a black helmet and a balaclava, suddenly stops his bike, realising he is being pursued by the vigilante cyclist. 'Oi, boi, no way? Oi, it's Cycling Mikey!' he tells the other man, before racing over to Van Erp. 'Wagwan Mikey,' the man repeats, seemingly taunting Van Erp, who appears initially shocked after being recognised by the pair. The controversial cyclist then brandishes an item from his pocket and waves it at the supposed thieves, warning them 'I'm going to call the police now'. 'Why are you hiding? Horrible little thieves,' Van Erps adds as he backs up against a nearby wall, before dishing out a final jibe as they drive away: 'I will finish you.' The suspected thieves later published their own footage of the encounter, with the caption 'Cycling Mikey pulls out a flicky' - a flicky is often used as slang to refer to a flick knife. However the Youtuber later confirmed was merely a Sharpie pen rather than any weapon and insisted he has never carried a knife. Van Erp told LBC: 'I don't carry a knife and never have. You can just about see it my own video - it's a rounded black plastic object. I don't think you could hurt anyone with it. 'Amusingly it's a Sharpie, but there's nothing sharp about it, just a rounded plastic pen. Mind you, they do say the pen is mightier than the sword! 'Despite my dislike of those suspected thieves, I would not wish any harm on them or anyone else.' A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: 'We are aware of footage circulating on social media which appears to show an incident in Gunnersbury Avenue, Chiswick, on an unspecified date. 'No arrests have been made at this stage. 'Anybody who witnessed the incident is urged to contact the police by calling 101, or 999 in an emergency.' Van Erp has gained national notoriety for his videos in which he rides through London with his GoPro and attempts to catch drivers on their phones. The road safety warrior claims to have caught more than 2,000 offenders since first strapping on his 'helmet-cam' back in 2006. Van Erp routinely catches motorists committing road offences, including using their mobile phones behind the wheel - and even once caught a driver inhaling nitrous oxide. After recording, he sends his videos to the Metropolitan Police, and after they take action, he posts his videos on to his YouTube channel. According to his X account, he has reported 2,280 drivers since 2019, which has resulted in 2,649 penalty points, £165,000 in fines as well as 35 disqualifications from driving.
