Childminder jailed for racial hatred to appeal 'political' sentence, says Tory councillor husband

Childminder Lucy Connolly from Northamptonshire was jailed for two years and seven months. Credit: Northamptonshire Police
Lucy Connolly was jailed for two and a half years. She was told she must serve at 40% of that in custody. Credit: Northamptonshire Police

The wife of a Conservative councillor who was jailed after an online rant about migrants will reportedly appeal against her sentence.

Lucy Connolly, 41, the wife of West Northamptonshire Tory councillor Raymond Connolly, posted on X in August on the day three girls were killed in Southport, amid online misinformation about the identity of the killer, including false claims he was an asylum seeker.

She wrote: "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."

On Thursday she was jailed for two years and seven months at Birmingham Crown Court, having last month pleaded guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing “threatening or abusive” written material.

Raymond Connolly speaking to reporters outside court after an earlier hearing. Credit: PA

Connolly's husband said that she planned to appeal against the sentence, which he believes was political, MailOnline reported.

Mr Connolly told the website: "She will be appealing and I will support the judicial process of whatever they decide to do.

"The trouble is, I was always told it wasn't political but today it seems to be."

Connolly's post was viewed 310,000 times in three-and-a-half hours before she deleted it.

She sent a WhatsApp message on 5 August joking that the tweet to her 10,000 followers had "bit me on the arse, lol".

Dad-of-three jailed for online post urging people to 'burn hotels'

Prosecutor Naeem Valli said Connolly posted a message saying she would "play the mental health card" if she was ever arrested.

In mitigation, Connolly's lawyer Liam Muir said she had been "triggered" by the deaths in Southport, having lost a son herself, but that race had not been the motivating factor.

Three girls were stabbed and killed at a holiday club in Southport on 29 July, sparking nationwide unrest.

The Recorder of Birmingham Judge Melbourne Inman KC said Connolly was "well aware how volatile the situation was".

He added that Connolly had encouraged activity which threatened or endangered life.

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