Ex-Tory councillor’s wife seeking to appeal sentence for racial hatred tweet

The wife of a former Conservative councillor who was jailed for 31 months after an online rant about migrants on the day of the Southport attacks is due to have a bid to appeal against the sentence heard on Thursday.

Lucy Connolly said in an X post on July 29: “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 followed three girls being stabbed and killed at a holiday club in Southport on July 29, sparking nationwide unrest.

It was viewed 310,000 times in three-and-a-half hours before Connolly deleted it.

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 councillor, but lost his seat in May.

Lucy Connolly’s bid to challenge her sentence is due to be heard at the Court of Appeal in London on Thursday, according to court listings.

The 42-year-old, of Northampton, was arrested on August 6 and police officers found other posts on her phone with racist remarks.

She had also sent a tweet commenting on a sword attack, which read: “I bet my house it was one of these boat invaders.”

Sentencing her, the Recorder of Birmingham, Judge Melbourne Inman KC, said Connolly was “well aware how volatile the situation was”, adding that she had encouraged activity which threatened or endangered life.