A British childcare worker who’s been sentenced to 31 months in jail over a purportedly “racist” tweet has lost her appeal.
On Monday, appeal court judge Lord Justice Holroyde dismissed Lucy Connolly’s appeal, arguing that her sentence was fair.
“There is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive,” he ruled. “The application for leave to appeal against sentence therefore fails and is refused.”
The full judgement in the Connolly case. The Court of Appeal have been as vindictive as the trial judge.https://t.co/mP4PfB7RnU
— Michael William (@Michael03282460) May 20, 2025
Connolly’s husband, former British councilor Raymond Connolly, issued a statement afterward slamming the court and pushing back on the narrative that his wife is some sort of racist.
“As a childminder she took care of small children of African and Asian heritage; they loved Lucy as she loved them,” he said. “My wife has paid a very high price for making a mistake and today the court has shown her no mercy. Lucy got more time in jail for one tweet than some pedophiles and domestic abusers get.”
He added that the “system wanted to make an example” out of his wife to ensure they were “scared to say things about immigration.”
“This is not the British way,” he continued. “The 284 days of separation have been very hard, particularly on our 12-year-old girl. Lucy posted one nasty tweet when she was upset and angry about three little girls who were brutally murdered in Southport. She realized the tweet was wrong and deleted it within four hours. That did not mean Lucy was a ‘far right thug’ as Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed.”
MUST READ STATEMENT FROM LUCY CONNOLLY’S HUSBAND RAYMOND AFTER SHE REMAINS LOCKED UP FOR ONE TWEET
I am heartbroken that my wife Lucy’s appeal was not upheld by the Court of Appeal. It feels shocking and unfair. The 284 days of separation have been very hard, particularly on our… pic.twitter.com/RdQ5RJOgIu— Dan Wootton (@danwootton) May 20, 2025
The ruling came nearly a year after Connolly posted a controversial tweet on July 29 of 2024, following a mass stabbing spree by Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old son of Rwanda immigrants. The spree left three children and at least 10 others injured.
“Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f–king hotels full of the b——s for all I care,” she tweeted. “While you’re at it take the treacherous government & politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it.”
View a copy of the since-deleted tweet below:
My honest opinion on this Lucy Connolly tweet is that it was stupid and of course very aggressive in setting fire to hotels with people in them. But to receive this amount of time in prison with bigger dangers walking away free shows how ridiculous the world has now become. pic.twitter.com/m4P8u1xH8D
— Sir Johnny OBE (@Farmer_Boycie) May 20, 2025
Her anger was directed at all the migrants —Â many of them noticeably violent — that her government was housing in hotels at the expense of the British people.
Three months after Connolly posted the tweet, Judge Melbourne Inman KC sentenced her to 31 months in jail to “punish and deter,” as reported at the time by the BBC.
Connolly’s defense attorney, Liam Muir, tried to stave off a harsh sentence by noting that she’d lost her own ailing son a decade earlier after the British health authorities turned him away.
“The horrendous way in which she lost her son, being turned away from the health service, can only have a drastic, detrimental effect on someone,” Muir said. “Whatever her intention was in posting the offending tweet, it was short-lived and she didn’t expect the violence that followed, and she quickly tried to quell it.”
He meant the anti-migrant violence that erupted in response to the violence from Rudakubana (and other migrants). The court had tried to blame that violence on Connolly’s lone tweet, even though she’d later condemned the violence.
“FFS, I get they’re angry. I’m fucking raging, however, this is playing right into their hands. I do not want civil unrest on our streets,” she’d tweeted, according to The Spectator.
As noted by her husband in his statement Monday, current U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was one of the many people who smeared his wife as a racist over her tweet.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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