Jailed Tory councillor’s wife says rant about setting fire to migrant hotels ‘never meant to incite violence’
Connolly said she ‘never’ intended to incite violence and did not realise pleading guilty would mean she accepted that she had
The wife of a former Conservative county councillor who called for migrant hotels to be set on fire said she never meant to incite violence, a Court of Appeal hearing heard.
Lucy Connolly received a 31-month sentence last October after posting an online rant about migrants on the day of the Southport attacks on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The social media 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.”
She reacted to the news that three girls were stabbed and killed at a holiday club in Southport on the same date, sparking nationwide unrest.
At a Court of Appeal hearing on Thursday, Connolly said 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.”