Lucy connolly loses prison sentence appeal after 'set fire to hotels' tweet

LUCY CONNOLLY HAS LOST HER APPEAL AT THE COURT OF APPEAL AGAINST HER 31-MONTH PRISON SENTENCE, WHICH SHE WAS GIVEN FOR TWEET THAT INCITED RACIAL HATRED 12:04, 20 May 2025 A woman jailed for

a tweet inciting racial hatred, following the Southport attacks, has had her appeal dismissed. Lucy Connolly, 41, from Northampton, lost her appeal to have her sentence reduced at the Court

of Appeal today (May 20), after being sentenced to 31 months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court in October 2024. The wife of a Conservative councillor was convicted of publishing written

material that incited racial hatred, when she posted an X message on July 29, last year. In the tweet, she said: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f*****g hotels full of the

b******s for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.” READ MORE: 'MONSTER' 280FT CHINESE SUPERMARKET WAREHOUSE BUILT IN BACK GARDENS OF BIRMINGHAM HOMES Ms Connolly's

tweet came after a period of devastation for the people of Southport, when three girls were killed at a holiday club on the same date the woman posted on the social media platform. Article

continues below In just three-and-a-half hours, her message was viewed 310,000 times, before it was finally deleted by Ms Connolly. At the Court of Appeal today, Lord Justice Holroyde, Mr

Justice Goss and Mr Justice Sheldon denied her bid for a reduction in her prison sentence. A statement from Lord Justice Holroyde said: “There is no arguable basis on which it could be said

that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive. The application for leave to appeal against sentence therefore fails and is refused.” He added the principal basis of appeal

“was substantially based on a version of events put forward by the applicant which we have rejected." In London at the appeal court, it was heard how Ms Connolly stated she had not

meant for the post on X to incite violence. The former childminder, who spoke from HMP Drake Hall in Eccleshall in Staffordshire, said when the message was published, she was "really

angry, really upset" and added she was “distressed that those children had died." Ms Connolly continued, explaining how she knew how the parents of the children felt, living a life

of "grief." She said: “Those parents still have to live a life of grief. It sends me into a state of anxiety and I worry about my children.” The court heard how the woman's

son had died 14 years ago, with the news of the Southport murders causing her a great deal of anxiety. READ MORE: FAMILY'S 'LIVING NIGHTMARE' AS PET DIES IN HOUSE FIRE

'CAUSED BY EXPLODING TOY' Ms Connolly's representative, Adam King, asked her if she had intended for anyone who read her tweet to "murder any politicians" or set

fire to any asylum residences. In response, she said: "Absolutely not." She added by pleading guilty to the offence, she did not realise she had accepted that she intended to

incite violence. Ms Connolly said: “When I wrote that tweet there had been no violence and it was never my intention to cause any.” At the time of the woman's arrest on August 6, other

racist remarks were also found on her device, by officers who seized her mobile phone. Article continues below Ms Connolly is the wife of Raymond Connolly, who previously held the position

as a Tory councillor for West Northamptonshire, but he has since lost his seat in May of this year.