Lucy Connolly says she was political prisoner over Southport post

A girl who was jailed for stirring up racial hatred towards asylum seekers has mentioned she was made to be “Sir Keir Starmer’s political prisoner”.

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

The 42-year-old spouse of a Tory councillor had referred to as for individuals to “set fireplace” to accommodations housing asylum seekers within the wake of the Southport attack in July 2024.

Quantity 10 declined to remark, however earlier this 12 months Sir Keir appeared to defend the prison term in the House of Commons, saying he was “towards incitement to violence”.

In her first newspaper interview since her launch, Connolly told the Telegraph she thought-about herself and “a number of different individuals” to “completely” be political prisoners of the prime minister.

“I, for some motive, appear to have had essentially the most protection, however there are individuals which are in equally terrible conditions that should not be in there,” she mentioned, talking to journalist Allison Pearson, who had campaigned for Connolly’s launch.

“I feel with Starmer he must practise what he preaches.

“He is a human rights lawyer, so perhaps he wants to take a look at what individuals’s human rights are; what freedom of speech means; and what the legal guidelines are on this nation.”

In a separate interview, Connolly mentioned she could be assembly members of Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday, however didn’t know what they might focus on.

“Simply that they are very desirous about the way in which issues are going within the UK, and they’re clearly large advocates without cost speech, and their legal professionals are eager to talk with me,” she informed Dan Wootton on his YouTube channel.

A current report from the US State Division raised issues round “severe restrictions” on freedom of expression within the UK, pointing to what it mentioned have been interventions by authorities officers “to sit back speech” within the wake of the Southport assault.

On 29 July final 12 months – the day of the Southport assault – she had posted on X that there needs to be “mass deportation now” and mentioned “if that makes me racist, so be it”.

Connolly’s put up had been deleted earlier than she was arrested on 6 August, however it had already been seen 310,000 instances.

She pleaded responsible to inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing “threatening or abusive” written materials on X.

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

Connolly additionally informed the Telegraph she was “upset and indignant past perception” after the murders in Southport, and that she knew “how that feels as a result of I’ve lost a child”.

“After all,[the tweet] wasn’t my most interesting second and I do not, I positively do not advocate violence or burning something down or something of the kind.”

She mentioned she was contemplating authorized motion towards the police over a press release that was launched by the Crown Prosecution Service after her sentencing, which claimed she had informed police in an interview that “she did not like illegal immigrants” and “that youngsters weren’t protected from them”.

Her feedback had been “massively twisted and used towards me”, she claimed.

When questioned concerning the sentence at Prime Minister’s Questions in Could, Sir Keir mentioned: “I’m strongly in favour of free speech; we have had free speech on this nation for a really very long time and we shield it fiercely.

“However I’m equally towards incitement to violence towards different individuals. I’ll at all times help the motion taken by our police and courts to maintain our streets and other people protected.”

At Connolly’s sentencing in October, Decide Melbourne Inman KC mentioned: “If you revealed these phrases you have been properly conscious how unstable the state of affairs was.

“That volatility led to severe dysfunction the place senseless violence was used.”

Connolly will stay on licence till the tip of her sentence.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson mentioned the power was conscious of feedback made by Connolly after her launch.

“We hope to contact Mrs Connolly within the coming days to know the problems she has raised round Northamptonshire Police,” they mentioned.

Quantity 10 declined to remark.

Further reporting by PA Media