Woman jailed for over two years after tweeting about mass deportation and setting fire to migrant

A woman who was jailed for over two years after tweeting about mass deportation and setting fire to migrant hotels has been refused temporary leave to visit her sick husband. Lucy Connolly, 42, was sentenced to 31 months behind bars after an inflammatory post on social media during the Southport riots last summer.

Demonstrations broke out across the country following the vicious killing of three children at a dance class on July 29, fuelled by false claims that the attacker was an illegal immigrant. Connolly’s post, which was later deleted, read: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the b******s for all I care… If that makes me racist, so be it.” The 42-year-old has reportedly been denied temporary leave to visit her husband Ray, who is suffering from bone marrow failure, and has also had her pleas to be with her 12-year-old daughter, whose behaviour at school has been “out of character”, rejected by authorities.

Documents suggest that Connolly has been denied leave for reasons linked to concerns over public and media interest in her case, rather than issues meeting the necessary criteria. Prison service sources denied her application for temporary release was blocked, insisting it was being considered by the governor at HMP Drake Hall in Staffordshire, to which she has recently been transferred.

A spokesperson said: “Decisions on release on temporary licence and home detention curfew are made following uncompromising risk assessments to prioritise public safety. These are discretionary schemes, and each case is rigorously scrutinised, considering the severity of the offence, the prisoner’s conduct and the potential impact on victims and the community.”

However, internal notes at her previous prison, HMP Peterborough, suggested that the temporary release was “not necessarily going to happen due to the public interest” and that “the media interest has been raised as an issue in terms of any future Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) applications”.

The 42-year-old’s post was taken down hours after it was published last summer, but had already been screenshotted and seen by over 300,000 people. Police interviewed her on August 6 and charged her with inciting racial hatred three days later. She pleaded guilty to the offence before her sentencing in October.

The Northampton-based childminder has been eligible for temporary release since November through a licence that enables prisoners to “rebuild family ties” and allows for up to two overnight stays at home per month. Among prisoners not eligible for the scheme are those serving sentences for category A offences, including violent, sexual and terrorist crimes.

Meanwhile, Connolly has reportedly qualified for an enhanced regime as a reward for good behaviour – although her temporary release from HMP Peterborough appeared to have been delayed for risk assessment purposes.

Former prison governor Ian Acheson, who has advised the Government on tackling extremism behind bars, said the “apparent foot-dragging” over granting the 42-year-old a temporary licence was “concerning”. “It can’t be right that someone who is otherwise eligible is not being considered because of either the prison’s failure to properly risk assess her or her ‘notoriety’,” he told The Telegraph. “It would be perfectly possible for prison authorities to set conditions that precludes any media exposure.”

Mr Acheson added that in his opinion, Connolly was “an ideal candidate for early release”, warning: “Many more risky individuals are walking free as a result of Labour’s emergency mass release legislation.”

Richard Tice, Deputy Leader of Reform UK, also suggested that she had been “a victim of two-tier justice”. “She should be released,” he added. “Real criminals convicted of violent crimes are being let out while she is detained.”

Connolly is reportedly seeking to appeal her sentence at a hearing on May 15. Her barrister, Adam King, is expected to argue that her offence was wrongly categorised as intending to incite serious violence, leading to a sentence of over two years, which made her ineligible for a suspended prison term. He is also expected to argue that insufficient weight was given to mitigating factors including an unblemised record and positive character references.