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The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
What next for social media ‘martyr' Lucy Connolly after leaving prison?
Lucy Connolly is out of jail. She was one of about 1,800 arrested for offences during riots last summer in the wake of the Southport murders. Connolly, from Northampton, was convicted and jailed for publishing 'threatening or abusive' material on social media including an incitement to 'set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the bastards for all I care.' Hers is one of the more high-profile cases and some activists have taken up her cause, claiming she has been a victim of 'two tier' policing, harsh sentencing, and restricted free speech. Her sentence was 31 months; a bid to reduce it was rejected by the Court of Appeal in May. Under current early release rules, she is allowed out on licence for the remainder of her sentence, having served 40 per cent. What did Connolly do wrong? Her supporters mostly concede that what she said was wrong, but many also minimise it as mere 'hurty words' for which nobody should be given a custodial sentence. There is also the suspicion in some quarters that the punishment was heavier because of political pressure; the prime minister said at the time that the full force of the law should be brought down on offenders. But her case was carefully examined at Birmingham Crown Court and at the Court of Appeal. The facts were not in dispute, she pled guilty, and the judges have considered the context and acted within the guidelines approved by ministers. What did she post on social media? The mother-of-three, who was working as a childminder at the time and is the wife of a Tory councillor, wrote a number of messages but attention focused on this X post that was later deleted: ''Mass deportation now. Set fire to all the fucking hotels full of the bastards for all I care. While you're at it, take the treacherous government and politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it.' While visible, it had been viewed 310,000 times and reposted 940 times. Four days earlier, Connolly had responded to a video shared online by Tommy Robinson, showing a black male being tackled to the ground for allegedly masturbating in public. 'Somalian, I guess. Loads of them,' she wrote, adding a vomiting emoji. Five days after the Southport murders Connolly stated on social media, referencing an anti-racism demo: 'Oh good. I take it they will all be in line to sign up to house an illegal boat invader then. Oh sorry, refugee. Maybe sign a waiver to say they don't mind if it's one of their family that gets attacked, butchered, raped etc, by unvetted criminals. Not all heroes wear capes.' Another message, on WhatsApp, read: 'The raging tweet about burning down hotels has bit me on the arse lol.' Another message, sent later, was in response to the furore she'd caused. According to the Court of Appeal, in another message she said she intended to tell authorities she had been the victim of doxing and went on to say that if she got arrested she would 'play the mental health card'. Did she have a defence? According to the Court of Appeal: 'The stabbings of the children in Southport had put her into a rage. She said she felt hatred about the incident and the circumstances, not about race. She said she had taken the post down because she realised it was wrong. Later in the interview she said her tweets were not racial and she had no intention to cause hate or racial issues.' Is she a hero? To some, she is akin to Emmeline Pankhurst or Joan of Arc. Senior members of the Trump administration have raised questions about freedom of speech in the UK as a result of the treatment of those who sent messages and were subsequently convicted of public order offences. Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has lauded her in these terms: 'Welcome to freedom, Lucy Connolly. You are now a symbol of Keir Starmer's authoritarian, broken, two-tier Britain.' Kemi Badenoch has attacked the way the courts treated Connolly, going in hard on the two-tier charge: 'Lucy Connolly finally returns home to her family today. At last. Her punishment was harsher than the sentences handed down for bricks thrown at police or actual rioting… meanwhile, former Labour councillor Ricky Jones called for protestors to have their throats slit. Charged with encouraging violent disorder, he pleaded not guilty and was acquitted by a jury who saw his words as a disgusting remark made in the heat of the moment, not a call to action.' Connolly will have no shortage of media outlets, some highly sympathetic, on which to appear should she wish. What does Keir Starmer think? He thinks politicians should stay out of the courtroom, and has no regrets. He told the Commons in May: 'Sentencing is a matter for our courts, and I celebrate the fact that we have independent courts in this country. I am strongly in favour of free speech … but I am equally against incitement to violence against other people.' What will happen next? Another extended skirmish in Britain's endless and debilitating culture wars. Maybe that chap who took a brick to his testes during the disturbances will be the next contender for martyrdom.
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Warning far-right has ‘hijacked' women's safety for political gain
Leading women's rights groups have warned that the far right movement has 'hijacked' the issue of women's safety for political gain. More than 100 organisations have written to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer to urge the government to stop far-right groups from 'weaponising' violence against women and girls (VAWG) for a 'racist, anti-migrant agenda'. It comes after weeks of far-right protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country, with many participants claiming to be there under the banner of 'protecting' women and girls in their community. The letter states how in recent weeks, the organisations had seen 'vital conversations' about VAWG be 'hijacked by an anti-migrant agenda' that 'fuels division' and harms survivors. The groups have expressed concerns that the issue is being 'hijacked by people seeking to use women and girls' pain and trauma – and the threat of it – for political gain'. The letter, co-ordinated by End Violence Against Women Coalition, Women for Refugee Women, Hibiscus and Southall Black Sisters, read: 'Over recent weeks, people claiming to care about the 'safety of women and children' have left families, women and children living in temporary asylum accommodation afraid to leave their front door. 'They follow in the footsteps of the rioters who used the appalling murder of three young girls as an excuse to bring violence to our streets; with targeted attacks against migrant, minoritised and Muslim communities.' The statement was supported by frontline organisations including Rape Crisis England and Wales, Refuge and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. The groups have joined to 'refuse to let women's safety be turned into hate speech' and have told the government to act urgently to prevent misinformation spreading. They warned that they had seen MPs share false statistics about the nationality of perpetrators, and warned that ministers saying protestors have 'legitimate concerns' risks 'normalising and enabling the spreading of racist narratives by the far-right'. The organisations warn that false narratives reinforce 'damaging myths' about gender-based violence, such as that it primarily comes from strangers. They say the false picture allows perpetrators who harm women and girls 'to hide behind racial stereotypes and scapegoating', while hostile immigration policies put marginalised women and survivors in the UK at an 'even greater risk of harm'. 'The far-right has long exploited the cause of ending violence against women and girls to promote a racist, white supremacist agenda,' Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said. 'These attacks against migrant and racialised communities are appalling and do nothing to improve women and girls' autonomy, rights and freedoms.' Andrea Vukovic, co-director of Women for Refugee Women, said the organisation had supported women in recent weeks that had fled war and persecution, and have been too afraid to leave their homes due to attacks on migrant and racialised communities. Selma Taha, executive director of Southall Black Sisters said: 'Attempts to weaponize VAWG through racist scapegoating of migrants not only distract from real solutions, but also deepen the marginalisation of Black, minoritised and migrant victim-survivors. 'The government, our public institutions, and the media must take responsibility for shaping an accurate, evidence-based narrative on immigration, and must end the normalisation of far-right misinformation in debates on immigration and VAWG.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'All acts of violence against women and girls are intolerable, so our upcoming VAWG Strategy will set out how we will protect the most vulnerable and halve these crimes in a decade. "At the same time, we know that people are concerned about the impact of illegal migration. That's why we are changing the law to deny registered sex offenders' asylum and we will do everything in our power to deport them from the UK."
Daily Mail
3 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Little boy's heartbreaking words after his dad was killed in Shoreham Airshow disaster - as widow calls for criminal probe into 'remorseless' pilot to be re-opened
The heartbreaking words a little boy said after his father was killed in the Shoreham Airshow disaster have been revealed. Georgio Polito, now 13, was just three years old when his dad, Daniele Polito, then 23, lost his life in the tragedy at Shoreham Airport in West Sussex on August 22, 2015. Pilot Andy Hill, 60, crashed a Hawker Hunter T7 jet on to the A27 close to the airport's boundary - with Mr Polito one of the 11 drivers on the motorway killed in the crash. The ex-RAF airman and British Airways captain was severely injured after crashing the vintage 1950s fighter plane he was performing in at the annual airshow. He was cleared of manslaughter by gross negligence at the Old Bailey in 2019. And on the tenth anniversary of the disaster, the dreadful words young Georgio uttered after he lost his dad have been revealed: 'My dad died for nothing.' The boy's mother and Mr Polito's widow, Tanya Hewstone, 30, said: 'For a child to say that, it was really hard.' It comes as the full-time mother calls for a criminal probe into the pilot to be re-opened, in a new petition she is set to launch. She said Mr Hill has shown a 'no remorse' by reapplying for his pilot's licence twice, with the latest application refused in May this year by the High Court. Ms Hewstone said her still grieving son has been excluded from multiple schools because of anger issues - 'compounded' by the fact Hill did not go to prison. 'Georgio has a lot of trauma', she said. 'I think it's hard for anyone to be a single parent, to be a completely alone parent. 'Because Georgio's a boy, I don't know how to answer the questions he has sometimes as he grows up. 'I feel like I've taken the full force of him losing his dad. The last ten years have been really hard.' Mr Polito was driving in a BMW with his work colleague Matt Jones - who also lost his life in the tragedy - when their car was hit by the plane. He was formerly engaged to Ms Hewstone but the pair had not been together in the three months leading up to the crash. It comes as the full-time mother calls for a criminal probe into the pilot to be re-opened, in a new petition she is set to launch. Pictured: Emergency services on the A27 after the plane crashed on to the road in August 2015 She did not tell Georgio about his dad's death for more than two weeks after it happened as she simply did not know how to break the news. The mother explained: 'I was feeding the ducks with him when it happened but I didn't find out Daniele had died until the following morning. 'When I told him, I said that daddy had been involved in an accident and he had to go up to the sky. 'I had his grandma with me at the time and Georgio said he was going to get his dad from the sky. 'A year after the accident, he was on a plane on holiday and he said he didn't see his dad.' A coroner ruled in December 2022 the victims of the disaster were unlawfully killed, describing Mr Hill's flying as 'exceptionally bad' and judging it to blame for the crash that saw his jet explode in a fireball. Senior coroner Penelope Schofield said the aircraft crashed as 'a result of the manner in which it was flown'. But the Air India crash in June which left 270 people dead, including several on the ground, 'triggered' Ms Hewstone again. It left her determined to get the Shoreham Airshow case reopened: 'There should be justice for all the families and the pilot should not be a free man. 'If I was in a car and dodged a pothole and killed 11 people, I'd be in prison. She added: 'He said before flying that plane, he felt unwell, therefore he should never have flown. He also said he blacked out but there's no proof of that.' On the anniversary day itself tomorrow, Ms Hewstone and Georgio will head to the memorial at the motorway bridge to pay their respects to Mr Polito. 'It doesn't feel like it's been ten years at all', she reflected. 'It's weird to think it's been ten years and no justice, no closure - I can't believe it happened. Any future has been taken away. Where would we be now?' It comes after Mr Hill recently declined to say sorry for the awful events of that day. A spokesperson for him told The Mirror last week: 'Mr Hill does not want to make any public statement about the tragic events of Shoreham.' Earlier this year, Mr Hill's final attempt to regain his pilot's licence through a legal challenge was refused at the High Court. He had lodged a Judicial Review just months after he lost an appeal following a two-day hearing in London in October last year. The decision to challenge the ruling was heavily criticised by families who lost loved ones in the Shoreham Airshow disaster. Mr Hill's lawyers previously argued the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) took the decision to stop him flying based on public reaction to the 2015 tragedy. The annual Shoreham Airshow, which had been running since 1989, has not run since. The CAA previously said: 'Following a public hearing on a challenge by Andrew Hill to a UK Civil Aviation Authority proposal to revoke his pilot and flight radio telephony licences, the Civil Aviation Authority's decision panel has confirmed that proposal and Andrew Hill's licences will now formally be revoked. 'Following the crash at the Shoreham Airshow in 2015 in which 11 people died, Andrew Hill's licences were suspended, and he has been unable to fly in the UK since then. 'The thoughts of everyone at the UK Civil Aviation Authority remain with those affected by the tragic crash.'
