Woman jailed for race hate post says she was political prisoner

A woman who was jailed for stirring up racial hatred against asylum seekers has said she was made to be "Sir Keir Starmer's political prisoner".

Lucy Connolly, from Northampton, was released on Thursday after serving 40% of her 31-month prison sentence.

The 42-year-old wife of a Tory councillor had called for people to "set fire" to hotels housing asylum seekers in the wake of the Southport attack in July 2024.

Number 10 declined to comment, but earlier this year Sir Keir appeared to defend the prison term in the House of Commons, saying he was "against incitement to violence".

In her first newspaper interview since her release, Connolly told the Telegraph she considered herself and "several other people" to "absolutely" be political prisoners of the prime minister.

"I, for some reason, seem to have had the most coverage, but there are people that are in equally awful situations that shouldn't be in there," she said, speaking to journalist Allison Pearson, who had campaigned for Connolly's release.

"I think with Starmer he needs to practise what he preaches.

"He's a human rights lawyer, so maybe he needs to look at what people's human rights are; what freedom of speech means; and what the laws are in this country."

On 29 July last year - the day of the Southport attack - she had posted on X that there should be "mass deportation now" and said "if that makes me racist, so be it".

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

She pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing "threatening or abusive" written material on X.

She is a former childminder whose husband is a Conservative member of Northampton Town Council.

Connolly also told the Telegraph she was "upset and angry beyond belief" after the murders in Southport, and that she knew "how that feels because I've lost a child".

"Of course,[the tweet] wasn't my finest moment and I don't, I definitely don't advocate violence or burning anything down or anything of the sort."

She said she was considering legal action against the police over a statement that was released by the Crown Prosecution Service after her sentencing, which claimed she had told police in an interview that "she did not like illegal immigrants" and "that children were not safe from them".

Her comments had been "massively twisted and used against me", she claimed.

When questioned about the sentence at Prime Minister's Questions in May, Sir Keir said: "I am strongly in favour of free speech; we've had free speech in this country for a very long time and we protect it fiercely.

"But I am equally against incitement to violence against other people. I will always support the action taken by our police and courts to keep our streets and people safe."

At Connolly's sentencing in October, Judge Melbourne Inman KC said: "When you published those words you were well aware how volatile the situation was.

"That volatility led to serious disorder where mindless violence was used."

Connolly will remain on licence until the end of her sentence.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said the force was aware of comments made by Connolly after her release.

"We hope to contact Mrs Connolly in the coming days to understand the issues she has raised around Northamptonshire Police," they said.

Number 10 declined to comment.