Lucy Connolly, the Northampton woman jailed for inciting racial hatred over a social media post targeting asylum seekers, has claimed she was made into “Sir Keir Starmer’s political prisoner”.
Connolly, 42, was released on Thursday after serving 40% of her 31-month prison sentence. She is the wife of a Conservative councillor and a former childminder.
She was jailed in October 2024 after posting on X, formerly Twitter, that people should “set fire” to hotels housing asylum seekers in the aftermath of the Southport attack, in which three young girls were killed. The post, which also called for “mass deportation”, was viewed more than 310,000 times before she deleted it.
Connolly pleaded guilty to publishing and distributing “threatening or abusive” written material likely to stir up racial hatred. At sentencing, Judge Melbourne Inman KC said she had posted in full knowledge of the “volatile situation”, which later led to disorder and violence.
In her first interview since release, Connolly told the Telegraph: “I consider myself and several other people to absolutely be political prisoners of the prime minister. I seem to have had the most coverage, but there are others in equally awful situations.”
She added: “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.”
In a separate interview with Dan Wootton on YouTube, Connolly revealed she is due to meet members of Donald Trump’s administration this weekend, though she said she did not know what would be discussed. “They are very interested in the way things are going in the UK,” she said. “They are big advocates for free speech, and their lawyers are keen to speak with me.”
Her comments come after a US State Department report expressed concern about “serious restrictions” on freedom of expression in the UK following the Southport attack, citing “interventions by government officials to chill speech”.
Connolly said she was “upset and angry beyond belief” when she wrote her post and claimed her words were “massively twisted” by prosecutors. She added that she was considering legal action against police over statements released after her sentencing.
Sir Keir Starmer, responding at Prime Minister’s Questions in May, defended the conviction, saying: “I am strongly in favour of free speech… but I am equally against incitement to violence against other people. I will always support the action taken by our police and courts.”
Number 10 has declined to comment since her release. Northamptonshire Police said they were aware of Connolly’s remarks and intended to contact her about the issues raised. Connolly remains on licence until the end of her sentence.
