Politician’s wife Lucy Connolly jailed for race hate post

The spouse of a Conservative councillor has been jailed for 31 months after calling for inns housing asylum seekers to be set on fireplace.

Lucy Connolly, whose husband serves on West Northamptonshire Council, posted the expletive-ridden message on X on the day three women had been killed in Southport.

The 41-year-old childminder referred to as for “mass deportation now” and added: “If that makes me racist, so be it.”

Decide Melbourne Inman KC instructed Birmingham Crown Courtroom the sentence for these offences was meant to “punish and deter”.

The listening to was instructed Connolly, of Parkfield Avenue in Northampton, despatched a WhatsApp message on 5 August joking that the tweet to her 10,000 followers had “bitten me on the arse, lol”.

Connolly beforehand admitted aspiring to fire up racial hatred.

Opening the case, prosecutor Naeem Valli mentioned Connolly additionally despatched a message saying she meant to work her discover interval as a childminder “on the sly” – regardless of being de-registered.

Mr Valli added: “She then goes on to say that if she had been to get arrested she would ‘play the psychological well being card’.”

The courtroom heard Connolly, who had no earlier convictions, additionally despatched one other tweet commenting on a sword assault, which learn: “I guess my home it was one in all these boat invaders.”

One other X submit despatched by Connolly – commenting on a video posted by the far proper activist Tommy Robinson – learn “Somalian I suppose” and was accompanied by a vomiting emoji.

Connolly appeared earlier than the courtroom through a video hyperlink to HMP Peterborough whereas her husband, councillor Raymond Connolly, watched the proceedings from the general public gallery.

Tom Muir, defending, mentioned Connolly had misplaced a toddler in horrific circumstances and was distinguished from different offenders utilizing social media in that she had despatched the tweet on the coronary heart of the case earlier than any violence in opposition to asylum seekers had began.

Mr Muir instructed the courtroom: “The horrendous manner wherein she misplaced her son, being turned away from the well being service, can solely have a drastic detrimental impact on somebody.

“No matter her intention was in posting the offending tweet, it was short-lived and he or she didn’t anticipate the violence that adopted, and he or she rapidly tried to quell it.”