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A mother who called for the arson of hotels housing immigrants in a social media post following a horrific child murder is seeking a reduction of her 31-month jail sentence at the Court of Appeal. Lucy Connolly, 42, a former childminder and the wife of a Conservative councillor, was imprisoned in October after pleading guilty to inciting racial hatred.
Connolly's inflammatory tweet was posted on X in the immediate aftermath of Axel Rudakubana's fatal knife attack on three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport. Her message read: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f---ing hotels full of the b------s for all I care, while you’re at it take the treacherous Government politicians with them.I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it.”
The highly charged post was online for less than four hours, but during that time, it was viewed approximately 310,000 times.
During her appeal hearing on Thursday, Connolly, appearing via video link from HMP Drake Hall, described her emotional state at the time. “Really angry, really upset and really distressed that those children had died and those parents would have to live a lifetime of grief,” she told the court. “[I was] really angry and upset that this had been allowed to happen. It sent me into a state of anxiety. It made me worry about my children. I thought, I know how they [the parents] feel and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It just made me so angry.”
Her defence lawyer, Adam King, argued that the shock and grief over the murders had triggered Connolly's anxiety, a condition linked to the earlier death of her infant son. When questioned, Connolly stated she had "absolutely not" intended for anyone to set fire to asylum hotels or harm any individuals.
Connolly's arrest followed significant public outrage after her post circulated widely. Subsequent police searches of her electronic devices uncovered further social media activity, including a message where she joked about feigning mental illness if arrested and another post where she speculated that the attacker was an "illegal immigrant."
The severity of Connolly's sentence ignited a national debate, with prominent right-wing politicians including Kemi Badenoch, Liz Truss, and Suella Braverman publicly advocating for her release. Elon Musk, the owner of X, also criticized the sentence, suggesting a double standard in the UK's justice system after his platform initially deemed the tweet not to be in violation of its rules.
Connolly, who has no previous criminal record and is the primary caregiver for her ill husband, is now seeking permission from three Court of Appeal judges to challenge her sentence. Her legal team is expected to argue that the sentencing failed to adequately consider the mitigating circumstances of her emotional distress and the absence of any intention to incite actual violence or arson. The outcome of this case will likely fuel further discussion about the boundaries of online expression, particularly in the context of tragedy and immigration.
