22-05-2025
Lucy Connolly is no racist – she helped me become a British citizen
Dr Hene Enyi said the childminder had gone out of her way to help with her family's application for British citizenship, even providing character references.
She told The Telegraph: 'Lucy is simply the loveliest, kindest British person I know. My mum and dad in Nigeria know all about her because I speak about her all the time.
'She was so good to us when we arrived here from Nigeria. She loved my daughter like her own child.
'We used to joke 'how do you make any money as a child minder', because she was always buying gifts for the children.
'As well as my daughter she looked after children from Bangladesh and Pakistan. This is not a racist person who has anything against people from different races.
'She was so kind when we needed a character reference for our citizenship and went out of her way to help us, even driving to our home to drop off the letters we needed.'
'My daughter loved being with her'
Dr Enyi added: 'She started looking after my daughter in 2019 when she was aged one. When we moved to another house we were too far for Lucy to look after her every day but we used to go back to her during the holidays because my daughter loved being with her so much.
'I trusted her so much that once when I had a problem with childcare I let Lucy look after my daughter overnight. That is how much faith I had in her.'
Dr Enyi said her daughter had been at Mrs Connolly's house when the police turned up to arrest her and her husband had to go and collect her in front of the officers.
She said: 'My daughter was really upset because she could no longer see Lucy. We have since left Northampton so it has been a bit easier to explain why she cannot see her anymore, but it has been very difficult for her.'
Dr Enyi said she put the offending tweet down to a momentary error of judgment, borne out of the grief she is still suffering following the loss of her own son.
'Error of judgment'
She said: 'I knew that Lucy had lost a baby. She has a memorial every year and I have attended for the last two years. So when I saw the news about what had happened my first thought was that she had reacted to the events in Southport because of what had happened to her son. I was just so sad.
'I could understand why what had happened in Southport touched a nerve with Lucy given what she had gone through.
'But she realised quickly that what she had said was wrong and removed it. The punishment does not fit the crime.
'Lucy is not a racist person at all. It was an error of judgment that was caused by the loss of her own child.
'She pleaded guilty and has been punished enough. Her daughter needs her mum and she deserves to be back home.
'It is such a real shame that she has been scapegoated in this way.'
