Tory councillor's wife 'had no idea what she was admitting' when she pleaded guilty to online rant about migrants in wake of Southport attack

Daily Mail​

15-05-2025

A former childminder who was jailed after posting an online rant about migrants the day of the Southport massacre said she had no idea what she was admitting to.
Lucy Connolly was jailed in October after making sickening comments on X, just hours after homegrown killer Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls and attempted to murder 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29.
The atrocity sparked nationwide unrest, with several people - including Connolly - jailed as a result.
In anger, she had tweeted to her 9,000 followers: '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 310,000 times in three-and-a-half hours before Connolly 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 last year.
But she told the Court of Appeal in London that she had no idea the full extent of what she was admitting, and that her solicitor Liam Muir had not properly explained what 'inciting violence' meant in the context of her tweet.
Indeed it was only when the judge was speaking at her sentencing hearing that it fully dawned on her, she said today when applying to have her prison term reduced.
Connolly deleted her post and blamed it on 'a moment of extreme outrage and emotion' when she was acting on 'false and malicious' information
But she was told she would have to wait for a decision on whether her appeal was successful.
Lord Justice Holroyde said: 'Normally we try to give judgment a short time after the hearing. We cannot do it in this case.
'We need some time to reflect on all we've heard.'
Speaking after the hearing, her husband Raymond Connolly told the Mail: 'I was hoping to get a decision today, but we didn't.
'But I'm used to that. All of Lucy's previous hearings and decisions have been delayed right the way through.'
Connolly appeared via videolink from HMP Drake Hall in Stafford for the hearing.
Giving evidence, Connolly said she initially sent the offensive tweet after getting 'really angry and really upset' upon learning about the Southport massacre, and that children were among the victims.
'Distraught' Connolly said the death of her 19-month-old son in 2011 after a medical blunder had heightened her sensitivity to what happened last July.
Around 20 of Connolly's supporters outside the Court of Appeal today
She told the Court of Appeal hearing: 'Those parents still have to live a life of grief. It sends me into a state of anxiety and I worry about my children.
'I already know how they feel (about child loss) and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.'
She told her lawyer Adam King she then sent her tweet.
But she said it was 'absolutely not' her intention for it to incite anyone to 'set fire to asylum hotels' or to 'murder any politicians'.
She subsequently walked the dog and decided to delete the tweet.
She told the court: 'By that point I had calmed myself down and I knew it was not an acceptable thing to say, I had time to gather myself and take it down.'
She subsequently issued an apology, saying she was 'acting on information that I now know to be false and malicious'.
Connolly was arrested a week after she posted the rant.
She said: 'In a moment of extreme outrage and emotion, I posted words that I realise were wrong in every way.
'I am someone who cares enormously about children, and the similarity between those beautiful children who were so brutally attacked and my own daughter overwhelmed me with horror but I should not have expressed that horror in the way that I did.
'This has been a valuable lesson for me, in realising how wrong and inaccurate things appearing on social media can be, and I will never ever react in this way again.'
But police subsequently discovered other posts on her phone containing racist remarks.
She had also sent a tweet commenting on a sword attack, which read: 'I bet my house it was one of these boat invaders.'
She told the Court of Appeal she pleaded guilty because she agreed she was responsible for writing the tweet, but said 'it was never my intention to stir up racial hatred'.
She said her solicitor Mr Muir advised her not to go to a basis-of-plea hearing with the judge setting out her reasons for admitting guilt and giving her the opportunity to dispute elements of the prosecution case.
She said Mr Muir told her it 'wasn't worth the risk'.
She said she did not understand the wording on the indictment and that her only motivation was to be reunited with her family, including her daughter.
Mr King asked: 'Was it made clear to you that what Mr Muir was saying to the prosecution was that you would concede you were intending to incite serious violence?'
Connolly replied: 'No.'
Mr King asked: 'Would you accept being sentenced on the basis of attempting to incite serious violence?'
Connolly replied: 'No, never. He (Mr Muir) said it was always going to be a custodial sentence and this was just damage limitation.'
She said the first time she realised she was being sentenced for intending to incite serious violence was 'when the judge started to sum up.'
Mr Muir told the court he had explained everything to her, including about the basis-of-plea hearing, and showed her sentencing guidelines setting out how she could expect to be punished.
He said: 'She wasn't saying: "I definitely did this."
'She didn't want to challenge it and risk losing her credit. I wanted her to be clear of the ramifications.'
Mr King, for Connolly, put it to Mr Muir that he had 'never discussed with her the fact that you would be accepting on her behalf an intent to incite serious violence'.
Mr Muir replied: 'I did, on more than one occasion.'
He said he had no doubts whatsoever about her understanding of the situation.
A small crowd of Connolly's supporters - including her husband, local Tory politician Raymond Connolly - were present in court for the day-long hearing.
They had gathered outside the court before the hearing, holding a large banner which read: 'Police our streets not our tweets'.
Those present inclided Lord Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, journalist Allison Pearson, who was briefly investigated by police last year over a social media post about the Hamas-Israel conflict, and Dan Wootton, and former GB News presenter Dan Wootton.
Her husband was a Tory West Northamptonshire councillor who served as vice chair of the authority's adult social care committee.
He lost his seat earlier this month, but remains on the smaller Northampton Town Council.
Reflecting briefly on the impact of jail on Connolly's daughter, her lawyer Mr King said: 'A 12-year-old without your mother for something like a whole year when you're 12 years old is an enormous detriment.'
Sentencing Connolly last year, the Recorder of Birmingham, Judge Melbourne Inman KC, said Connolly was 'well aware how volatile the situation was', adding that she had encouraged activity which threatened or endangered life.
He added: 'Sadly this is one of a number of cases that this court has had to deal with arising from civil unrest following the very tragic events in Southport on July 29 2024.
'As everyone is aware, some people used that tragedy as an opportunity to sow division and hatred, often using social media, leading to a number of towns and cities being disfigured by mindless and racist violence, intimidation and damage which has been summarised by the prosecution today.
'It is (a) strength of our society that it is both diverse and inclusive.
'There is always a very small minority of people who will seek an excuse to use violence and disorder causing injury, damage, loss and fear to wholly innocent members of the public and sentences for those who incite racial hatred and disharmony in our society are intended to both punish and deter.'