Latest news with #SouthportAttacks
Times
28-05-2025
- General
- Times
Police should disclose ethnicity of suspects, says Met chief
The head of Britain's biggest police force has suggested that releasing the personal details of suspects, such as their ethnicity, should happen routinely, following the parade crash in Liverpool. Merseyside police disclosed that the suspect in the Liverpool collision was a 'white British' man within two hours of the incident on Monday. It has been viewed as the force learning lessons from the Southport attacks, after which conspiracy theories proliferated in an information vacuum about the suspect. Forensic officers at the scene after a car was driven into a crowd in Liverpool on Monday ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA • Why were police quick to describe Liverpool suspect as white British? Sir Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, told Radio 4's Today programme: 'I'm not going to criticise another police chief who makes a judgment in a really difficult, complex situation. 'Every case needs judging on its merits. I think as we go forward in the future, we would always want to be more transparent in terms of the data we release. Sometimes, the nature of the investigation, the nature of case, makes that difficult but, in principle, of course transparency is good.' Rowley said he wanted to see increased transparency JOSHUA BRATT FOR THE TIMES When asked whether declaring a suspect's ethnicity sooner was potentially the way forward, Rowley said: 'In general, I think we have to be realistic and more often … put more personal details in [the] public [domain] earlier.' He added that, in an age of citizen journalism, 'some content will be all over social media very, very quickly' and people would be 'making guesses and inferences' so 'in that world, putting more facts out is the only way to deal with it'. • Liverpool fans showed pure happiness — all that vanished after the crash Rowley said that if those facts 'embolden racists' in some cases 'we need to confront those individuals'. He added: 'Trying to avoid truths when half the truth is in the public domain is going to be quite difficult, going forward.' On Tuesday, Jonathan Hall KC, the independent adviser on terrorism legislation, said that the decision to release more details about the Liverpool suspect showed police had learnt their lesson and changed their approach after Southport. He had been critical about their failure to give accurate and timely information after the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year. Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer ELIZABETH COOK/PA Hall said: 'The lesson has been learnt: don't give any fuel to the conspiracy merchants. You've got to roll with it. If it had been a Muslim, an Asian, a black man or woman, they would have to say that. You've got to be fully consistent.' In April, a report by MPs found that 'inconsistent advice' from the Crown Prosecution Service about whether to publicly reveal Axel Rudakubana's Christian background created an information vacuum that 'allowed disinformation to flourish'. Hall added that it was important for the authorities to be 'fully consistent' and give details on suspects, whatever their race, ethnicity and background. 'I wouldn't underestimate people's ability to receive the truth — that's the most important thing.'
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Councillor's wife's loses appeal against jail term for racist tweet.
A Conservative councillor's wife who was jailed after a swearword-filled online rant on the day of last year's Southport attacks has had her appeal against her sentence Connolly, from Northampton, was jailed for 31 months after calling for "mass deportation now" and urging her followers on X to "set fire" to hotels housing asylum seekers. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Wife of ex-Tory councillor jailed for social media rant about migrants loses appeal over sentence
The wife of a former Conservative county councillor has had her jail sentence upheld after she made an online rant about migrants on the day of the Southport attacks. Lucy Connolly, 42, was handed a 31-month sentence after admitting making a post on X in the hours after three girls were stabbed and killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. In response, 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, 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.' It was viewed 310,000 times in three-and-a-half hours before Connolly deleted it. On Tuesday Lord Justice Holroyde, Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Sheldon, refused her application to appeal. 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.' During a hearing last Thursday at the Court of Appeal, she said that she 'never' intended to incite violence and did not realise pleading guilty would mean she accepted that she had. Giving evidence from HMP Drake Hall in Eccleshall in Staffordshire, Connolly had written the post on 29 July when she was 'really angry, really upset' and that she knew how the parents felt. She said: 'Those parents still have to live a life of grief. It sends me into a state of anxiety and I worry about my children.' The court heard that Connolly's son died tragically around 14 years ago, and that news of the murders of the children in Southport had heightened her sensitivity. When asked why she had deleted the post three and a half hours after posting it, Connolly added: 'I calmed myself down, and I know that wasn't an acceptable thing to say. It wasn't the right thing to say, it wasn't what I wanted to happen.' In the aftermath of the stabbing, anti-immigration riots broke out across the country with mosques, homes and businesses targeted. Over 1,200 people were arrested while over 130 police officers were injured between 30 July and 5 August 2024. 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.' However, the prosecution had argued that the post was a reflection of her attitude towards immigrants. When she was arrested on 6 August, she had deleted her social media account but other messages which included further racist remarks were recovered on her phone. Naeem Valli, for the prosecution, asked Connolly if she believed the country was being 'invaded' by immigrants. She replied: 'I believe that we have a massive number of people in the country that are unchecked, coming into the country and I believe that is a national security risk.' She added that it would be 'absolutely incorrect' to say she did not want immigrants in the country. The former childminder, who is married to Raymond Connolly, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court last October after pleading guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred. Mr Connolly had been a Tory West Northamptonshire district councillor but lost his seat in May. He remains on the town council.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Ex-Tory councillor's wife faces wait over racial hatred tweet appeal
The wife of a former Conservative county councillor who was jailed after an online rant about migrants on the day of the Southport attacks faces a wait to see if her appeal against a 31-month sentence has been successful. Lucy Connolly was jailed last October after admitting making the post on X, formerly known as Twitter. 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.' The post came after three girls were stabbed and killed at a holiday club in Southport on the same date, sparking nationwide unrest. On Thursday, she told the Court of Appeal that she 'never' intended to incite violence, and did not realise pleading guilty would mean she accepted that she had. After hearing evidence from Connolly and her lawyer at the crown court, Lord Justice Holroyde, Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Sheldon reserved their judgment. Lord Justice Holroyde said: 'We will give our decision and our reasons in writing. We will do that as soon as possible.' Giving evidence from HMP Drake Hall in Eccleshall in Staffordshire, Connolly had earlier told the court that when she initially wrote the post on July 29, she was 'really angry, really upset' and 'distressed that those children had died' and that she knew how the parents felt. She said: 'Those parents still have to live a life of grief. It sends me into a state of anxiety and I worry about my children.' The court heard that Connolly's son died tragically around 14 years ago, and that news of the murders of the children in Southport had caused a resurgence of this. 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.' When asked why she had deleted the post three and a half hours after posting it, Connolly added: 'I calmed myself down, and I know that wasn't an acceptable thing to say. It wasn't the right thing to say, it wasn't what I wanted to happen.' The court heard that some days later, Connolly posted an apology on X stating she regretted her initial post and now realised that it was wrong in 'every way'. She also said: 'When I wrote that tweet there had been no violence and it was never my intention to cause any.' Naeem Valli, for the prosecution, told the court the post was a reflection of her attitude towards immigrants. He added: 'At the time of creating the post, the applicant clearly intended the racial hatred would be stirred up, and also intended to incite serious violence. Earlier, he had asked Connolly if she believed the country was being 'invaded' by immigrants. She replied: 'I believe that we have a massive number of people in the country that are unchecked, coming into the country and I believe that is a national security risk.' But she added that it would be 'absolutely incorrect' to say she did not want immigrants in the country. Connolly, of Northampton, was arrested on August 6, by which point she had deleted her social media account, but other messages which included further racist remarks were uncovered by officers who seized her phone. The former childminder, who is married to Raymond Connolly, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court last October after pleading guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred. Mr Connolly had been a Tory West Northamptonshire district councillor, but lost his seat in May. He remains on the town council. Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the hearing, Mr Connolly said: 'Obviously I'm disappointed today. It didn't come to a conclusion and get a result. 'It's 279 days now my daughter's been without her mother. I'm hoping that within a week she'll be home and this will come to a positive conclusion. Can't really say no more than that. 'It's a shame I didn't get a result today but we'll soon know in the next few days. Got to get home now to my daughter.'
