Wife of Tory councillor jailed for racist Southport post loses appeal

A Conservative councillor's wife who was jailed for inciting racial hatred after an online rant against migrants on the day of the Southport attacks has had her appeal against her sentence dismissed.

Lucy Connolly, from Northampton, was jailed for 31 months in October after calling for "mass deportation now" and urging her followers on X to "set fire" to hotels housing asylum seekers.

The tweet was viewed 310,000 times before it was deleted.

Judges at the Court of Appeal have now ruled that "there is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive".

Connolly, 41, posted the swearword-ridden message on 29 July 2024 - the day three girls were murdered at a dance class in Southport.

While calling for "mass deportations now", she wrote: "If that makes me racist, so be it."

She urged readers to "set fire" to "all the hotels" that were "full" of those she wished to deport.

The post had been deleted before Connolly was arrested on 6 August but it had already been viewed 310,000 times.

She was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to inciting racial hatred and told that she would serve 40% of her sentence in prison before being released on licence.

Her husband, Ray Connolly, rejected a call from a local MP for his resignation from West Northamptonshire Council, but lost his seat in this year's local elections.

He is still a member of Northampton Town Council.

Giving a written judgment on Tuesday, three Court of Appeal judges said Connolly's principal ground of appeal "was substantially based on a version of events put forward by the applicant which we have rejected".

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