The imprisonment of Lucy Connolly, a 42-year-old mother, has drawn fierce backlash from high-profile political figures who argue that she’s been punished not for any real danger she posed, but to send a message to others: stay silent or face the consequences.
Connolly, a daycare provider from Northampton, has spent months behind bars for a social media comment she made in the emotional aftermath of the Southport killings. Her now-deleted post, which included inflammatory language about deportation and asylum hotels, led to charges of inciting racial hatred.
“Mass deportation now, set fire to all the fucking hotels full of the bastards for all I care, while you’re at it take the treacherous government and politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist so be it.”
Though she took the message down within hours and later apologized, the state pressed forward. The courts handed her a 31-month prison sentence in October, a move that many now see as deeply political as even violent offenses in the country often receive much shorter sentences.
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, has been one of the most vocal in condemning the punishment. “Lucy Connolly is a victim of a politicized two-tier justice system in Starmer’s Britain. She should not be in prison,” she said. “Yes, her comments were crass, tasteless, and vile, and I disagree with them. Lucy deleted them quickly and apologized for her error of judgment. That is why the sentence of 31 months custody for her first-time offense seems excessive.”
Braverman further warned of a dangerous precedent: “She has deliberately been made an example of to intimidate others into silence. Orwell was out by 40 years. Otherwise, he was spot on.”
The fallout over Connolly’s case has expanded well beyond her family. Liz Truss and Bob Blackman, chair of the influential 1922 Committee, have both echoed calls for her release. Truss pointed to a broader structural issue in the judiciary, saying, “The severity of her sentence is completely unjustifiable and a shocking example of two-tier justice which now prevails in Britain.” She also blamed sweeping constitutional reforms from the early 2000s for stripping away accountability: “We are now suffering the consequences of a system that has been captured by leftist ideology.”
Despite meeting the eligibility criteria months ago, Connolly has been denied Release on Temporary License (ROTL) to visit her seriously ill husband, a local Conservative councilor, or their 12-year-old daughter. Internal prison communications point to public and media interest as factors delaying her temporary release. One note bluntly stated, “It is not necessarily going to happen due to the public interest.” Another flagged “media interest” as a complicating factor in future applications.
Her legal team is preparing to appeal, arguing that the judge misclassified the offense and failed to give appropriate weight to mitigating factors, including the emotional trauma stemming from the death of her young son, who died due to an NHS hospital error.
