Latest news with #RupertLowe
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How one woman's racist tweet sparked a free speech row
Lucy Connolly's 51-word online post in the wake of the Southport killings led her to jail and into the centre of a row over free speech. For some, the 31-month jail term imposed for inciting race hate was "tyrannical", while one commentator said Connolly was a "hostage of the British state", and another that she was "clearly a political prisoner". Court of Appeal judges, however, this week refused to reduce her sentence. Asked about her case in Parliament, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said sentencing was "a matter for the courts" and that while he was "strongly in favour of free speech", he was "equally against incitement to violence". Rupert Lowe, the independent MP for Great Yarmouth, said the situation was "morally repugnant" and added: "This is not the Britain I want to live in." Others said her supporters wanted a "right to be racist". Warning: This report contains racist and discriminatory language In July last year, prompted by a false rumour that an illegal immigrant was responsible for the murder of three girls at a dance workshop in Southport, Connolly posted online calling for "mass deportation now", adding "set fire to all the... hotels [housing asylum seekers]... for all I care". Connolly, then a 41-year-old Northampton childminder, added: "If that makes me racist, so be it." At the time she had about 9,000 followers on X. Her message was reposted 940 times and viewed 310,000 times, before she deleted it three and a half hours later. In October she was jailed after admitting inciting racial hatred. Three appeal court judges this week ruled the 31-month sentence was not "manifestly excessive". Stephen O'Grady, a legal officer with the Free Speech Union (FSU), said the sentence seemed "rather steep in proportion to the offence". His organisation has worked with Connolly's family since November and funded her appeal. Mr O'Grady said Connolly "wasn't some lager-fuelled hooligan on the streets" and pointed to her being a mother of a 12-year-old daughter, who had also lost a son when he was just 19 months old. He said there was a "difference between howling racist abuse at somebody in the street and throwing bricks at the police" and "sending tweets, which were perhaps regrettable but wouldn't have the same immediate effect". Connolly's case was also "emblematic of wider concerns" about "increasing police interest in people's online activity", Mr O'Grady said. The FSU had received "a slew of queries" from people who were "very unsure" about "the limits of what they can they can say online", he said, and who feared "the police are going to come knocking on the door". "There's an immense amount of police overreach," he added. He cited the example of a retired special constable detained after challenging a pro-Palestine supporter online, a case the FSU took on. Responding to Mr O'Grady's claim, a National Police Chiefs' Council spokesperson said that Article 10 of the Human Rights Act "protects a person's right to hold opinions and to express them freely" and that officers received training about the act. They added: "It remains imperative that officers and staff continue to receive training commensurate with the demands placed upon them." After the appeal was dismissed, Connolly's husband, Conservative town councillor Raymond Connolly, said she was "a good person and not a racist" and had "paid a very high price for making a mistake". Her local Labour MP, Northampton South's Mike Reader, said he had "big sympathy" for Connolly and her daughter, but there was no justification for accusing the police of "overreach". He said: "I want the police to protect us online and I want the police to protect us on the streets and they should be doing it equally." It was a "fallacy" and "misunderstanding of the world" if people did not "believe that the online space is as dangerous for people as the streets," he added. "We're all attached to our phones; we're all influenced by what we see, and I think it's right that the police took action here." In his sentencing remarks, Judge Melbourne Inman said Connolly's offence was "category A" - meaning "high culpability" - and that both the prosecution and her own barrister agreed she "intended to incite serious violence". For Reader, this showed "they weren't arguing this was a silly tweet and she should be let off - her own counsel agreed this was a serious issue". At her appeal, Connolly claimed that while she accepted she intended to stir up racial hatred, she always denied trying to incite violence. But Lord Justice Holroyde said in a judgement this week the evidence "clearly shows that she was well aware of what she was admitting". Sentencing guidelines for the offence indicate a starting point of three years' custody. While the prosecution argued the offence was aggravated by its timing, "particularly sensitive social climate", the defence argued the tweet had been posted before any violence had started, and that Connolly had "subsequently attempted to stop the violence after it had erupted". The judgement also highlighted other online posts from Connolly that the judges said indicated her "view about illegal immigrants". Four days before the Southport murders, she responded to a video shared by far-right activist Tommy Robinson showing a black man being tackled to the ground for allegedly performing a sex act in public. Connolly posted: "Somalian, I guess. Loads of them," followed by a vomiting emoji. On 3 August, responding to an anti-racism protest in Manchester, she wrote: "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." The FSU said she was likely to be eligible for release from August, after serving 40% of her sentence. Some, including Mr O'Grady, argued her jail term was longer than punishments handed to criminals perceived to have committed "far worse" crimes. Reform UK's Mark Arnull, the leader of West Northamptonshire Council, said it was not for him "to pass comment on sentences or indeed discuss individual cases". But he added: "It's relatively easy to understand why constituents in West Northamptonshire question the proportionality of Lucy's sentence when they see offenders in other high-profile and serious cases walk free and avoid jail." The issue for writer and activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu was that "those who have committed worse crimes" should "spend more time in jail, not less time for Lucy Connolly". Dr Mos-Shogbamimu added: "It's not 'freedom of speech without accountability'. She didn't tweet something that hurt someone's feelings; she tweeted saying someone should die." In her view, those making Connolly a "flag-bearer or champion" for free speech were asking for "the right to be racist". Free speech advocate Mr O'Grady said "no-one is arguing for an unfettered 'right' to incite racial hatred". Connolly's case was about "proportionality", he added, and "the sense that online speech is increasingly being punished very harshly compared to other offending... such as in-person violent disorder". Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. PM defends courts over Lucy Connolly racist post Woman jailed for race hate post on X loses appeal Tory politician's wife jailed for race hate post
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
How Lucy Connolly's racist tweet sparked a free speech row
Lucy Connolly's 51-word online post in the wake of the Southport killings led her to jail and into the centre of a row over free some, the 31-month jail term imposed for inciting race hate was "tyrannical", while one commentator said Connolly was a "hostage of the British state", and another that she was "clearly a political prisoner".Court of Appeal judges, however, this week refused to reduce her about her case in Parliament, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said sentencing was "a matter for the courts" and that while he was "strongly in favour of free speech", he was "equally against incitement to violence".Rupert Lowe, the independent MP for Great Yarmouth, said the situation was "morally repugnant" and added: "This is not the Britain I want to live in."Others said her supporters wanted a "right to be racist". Warning: This report contains racist and discriminatory language In July last year, prompted by a false rumour that an illegal immigrant was responsible for the murder of three girls at a dance workshop in Southport, Connolly posted online calling for "mass deportation now", adding "set fire to all the... hotels [housing asylum seekers]... for all I care".Connolly, then a 41-year-old Northampton childminder, added: "If that makes me racist, so be it."At the time she had about 9,000 followers on X. Her message was reposted 940 times and viewed 310,000 times, before she deleted it three and a half hours later. In October she was jailed after admitting inciting racial appeal court judges this week ruled the 31-month sentence was not "manifestly excessive". Stephen O'Grady, a legal officer with the Free Speech Union (FSU), said the sentence seemed "rather steep in proportion to the offence".His organisation has worked with Connolly's family since November and funded her O'Grady said Connolly "wasn't some lager-fuelled hooligan on the streets" and pointed to her being a mother of a 12-year-old daughter, who had also lost a son when he was just 19 months said there was a "difference between howling racist abuse at somebody in the street and throwing bricks at the police" and "sending tweets, which were perhaps regrettable but wouldn't have the same immediate effect". Connolly's case was also "emblematic of wider concerns" about "increasing police interest in people's online activity", Mr O'Grady FSU had received "a slew of queries" from people who were "very unsure" about "the limits of what they can they can say online", he said, and who feared "the police are going to come knocking on the door"."There's an immense amount of police overreach," he cited the example of a retired special constable detained after challenging a pro-Palestine supporter online, a case the FSU took to Mr O'Grady's claim, a National Police Chiefs' Council spokesperson said that Article 10 of the Human Rights Act "protects a person's right to hold opinions and to express them freely" and that officers received training about the added: "It remains imperative that officers and staff continue to receive training commensurate with the demands placed upon them." After the appeal was dismissed, Connolly's husband, Conservative town councillor Raymond Connolly, said she was "a good person and not a racist" and had "paid a very high price for making a mistake".Her local Labour MP, Northampton South's Mike Reader, said he had "big sympathy" for Connolly and her daughter, but there was no justification for accusing the police of "overreach".He said: "I want the police to protect us online and I want the police to protect us on the streets and they should be doing it equally."It was a "fallacy" and "misunderstanding of the world" if people did not "believe that the online space is as dangerous for people as the streets," he added."We're all attached to our phones; we're all influenced by what we see, and I think it's right that the police took action here." In his sentencing remarks, Judge Melbourne Inman said Connolly's offence was "category A" - meaning "high culpability" - and that both the prosecution and her own barrister agreed she "intended to incite serious violence".For Reader, this showed "they weren't arguing this was a silly tweet and she should be let off - her own counsel agreed this was a serious issue".At her appeal, Connolly claimed that while she accepted she intended to stir up racial hatred, she always denied trying to incite violence. But Lord Justice Holroyde said in a judgement this week the evidence "clearly shows that she was well aware of what she was admitting".Sentencing guidelines for the offence indicate a starting point of three years' the prosecution argued the offence was aggravated by its timing, "particularly sensitive social climate", the defence argued the tweet had been posted before any violence had started, and that Connolly had "subsequently attempted to stop the violence after it had erupted". The judgement also highlighted other online posts from Connolly that the judges said indicated her "view about illegal immigrants".Four days before the Southport murders, she responded to a video shared by far-right activist Tommy Robinson showing a black man being tackled to the ground for allegedly performing a sex act in posted: "Somalian, I guess. Loads of them," followed by a vomiting 3 August, responding to an anti-racism protest in Manchester, she wrote: "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."The FSU said she was likely to be eligible for release from August, after serving 40% of her including Mr O'Grady, argued her jail term was longer than punishments handed to criminals perceived to have committed "far worse" UK's Mark Arnull, the leader of West Northamptonshire Council, said it was not for him "to pass comment on sentences or indeed discuss individual cases".But he added: "It's relatively easy to understand why constituents in West Northamptonshire question the proportionality of Lucy's sentence when they see offenders in other high-profile and serious cases walk free and avoid jail." The issue for writer and activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu was that "those who have committed worse crimes" should "spend more time in jail, not less time for Lucy Connolly". Dr Mos-Shogbamimu added: "It's not 'freedom of speech without accountability'. She didn't tweet something that hurt someone's feelings; she tweeted saying someone should die."In her view, those making Connolly a "flag-bearer or champion" for free speech were asking for "the right to be racist".Free speech advocate Mr O'Grady said "no-one is arguing for an unfettered 'right' to incite racial hatred".Connolly's case was about "proportionality", he added, and "the sense that online speech is increasingly being punished very harshly compared to other offending... such as in-person violent disorder". Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Nigel Farage's party in talks to get a seven figure donation from American donor (and it's not Elon Musk)
NIGEL Farage's party is in talks to get a seven figure donation from an American donor - and it is not Elon Musk. Reform Party top brass are in advanced talks to bank at cheque - which insiders say would be a 'gamechanger' to British politics. 2 Billionaire Tesla tycoon Musk had previously dangled the prospect of giving Nigel a massive donation - but never did after the two men fell out. A source close to Reform said: 'The talks are at an advanced stage - if they get the cash it could be a real gamechanger and put even more rocket boosters under their campaign.' Another source close to the party said: 'There is someone sniffing around.' But the identity of the possible donor is being kept shrouded in secrecy by Reform Party bosses. A spokesman for the party refused to comment on talks, but said they have not had a seven figure donation from an American donor 'so far'. Earlier in the week, the PM told Labour MPs they have a 'moral responsibility' to keep Mr Farage out of No10. It comes as Tory big beast Robert Jenrick was spotted having a cosy lunch with ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe at a swanky private members club in Mayfair. Mr Lowe had a bitter falling out with Reform leader Mr Farage earlier this year and left the party after being suspended. A witness said: 'It looked like Rupert was spilling secrets from his time in Reform.'
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Rupert Lowe ‘made anti-Semitic remark' in leaked video
Rupert Lowe has been accused of making an anti-Semitic remark at a meeting in Parliament. The former Reform UK MP, who split from the party in March, appeared to suggest the comment could end his career 'in a second' if it were ever released to the public, according to a leaked recording. Mr Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP, is said to have made the remark to parliamentary staff earlier this year. According to The Guardian, which claims to have a recording of the session, he could be heard describing a camera as 'Jewish' because it was 'small'. Commenting on the size of the device, he reportedly said: 'In days gone by you'd call it a Jewish camera, but that would be politically incorrect. Because it's so small.' This has been interpreted by some as anti-Semitic on the basis the word 'small' could imply the camera is cheap, therefore playing into the false trope that Jewish people are reluctant to spend money. A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said: 'This is bizarre and outdated anti-Semitic language, which has no place in our politics. Mr Lowe should apologise for the offence this remark has caused.' The comments are said to have sparked laughter in the room, with the person filming appearing to reassure Mr Lowe they would be edited out of the video. Someone out of shot could reportedly be heard saying 'career over in a second', which was repeated by Mr Lowe, who laughed. The MP dismissed the claim as a 'ludicrous smear attempt', telling The Guardian: 'I don't recall saying that, but if it was said it was clearly a joke, as anybody reading it can understand.' The incident was said to have taken place in February or March, about the time Mr Lowe entered into an extraordinary public spat with Nigel Farage. Mr Lowe was suspended from Reform and reported to police in March for allegedly making verbal threats to Zia Yusuf, the party's chairman. Days before details of the accusations emerged, he had given an interview in which he accused Nigel Farage, the party leader, of acting like a messiah. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed last week that Mr Lowe would not be charged, prompting him to call Mr Farage a 'coward and a viper'. The two had been trading blows for weeks, with the Reform leader insisting there was 'no way back' for his former colleague. Mr Lowe vowed there would be an alternative to Reform on the Right of British politics 'very soon', promising that a new movement would be 'decent, democratic and honest'. He is still facing a parliamentary investigation into allegations he and members of his team bullied two former members of his staff – claims he has categorically denied.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Former Reform MP Rupert Lowe 'caught on camera using antisemitic language' as campaign groups call on him to apologise
Former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe has allegedly been caught on camera using 'antisemitic language'. The Great Yarmouth MP was filmed supposedly remarking on the size of a camera which is about to start filming him, describing it as a 'Jewish camera', in a video obtained by The Guardian newspaper. In the footage, understood to have been recorded in February or March, Mr Lowe is seen sitting on a green sofa in a meeting with parliamentary staff. As he noticed the camera, Mr Lowe said: 'In days gone by you'd call it a Jewish camera, but that would be politically incorrect. Because it's so small.' Following laughter from the room, someone out of sight of the video can be heard to say: 'Career over in a second.' Mr Lowe appeared to agree, repeating: 'Career over in a second.' Asked about his comments, Mr Lowe told the PA news agency the video was a 'ludicrous smear attempt'. But the Board of Deputies of British Jews, one of the UK's largest Jewish community organisations, branded the remarks antisemitic. 'This is bizarre and outdated antisemitic language which has no place in our politics. Mr Lowe should apologise for the offence this remark has caused,' a spokesperson for the board said. Mr Lowe was suspended from Reform UK in March after he was accused of making verbal threats against party chairman Zia Yusuf, and of bullying. The Crown Prosecution Service said no criminal charges would be brought against the independent MP earlier this month in relation to alleged threats towards Mr Yusuf. Mr Lowe has since accused his ex-colleagues of engaging in a 'sinister' attempt to use the police to silence him, and branded Reform's leader Nigel Farage a 'coward and a viper'. The MP has hinted in interviews since his suspension he would be interested in setting up his own challenger political party on the right. He has also suggested he would be open to joining the Conservatives, if the party were to undergo reform.
