Tory Councillor’s Wife Pleads Guilty to Inciting Racial Hatred in Wake of Southport Stabbings

Lucy Connolly: Northampton Childcare Provider, Wife of Conservative Councillor, Admits to Inciting Racial Hatred

Connolly made a post on X during the Southport stabbing incident, following the spread of unverified rumors on social media that the perpetrator was an undocumented immigrant.

Political journalist @alixculbertson

Monday, September 2, 2024, 3:

The spouse of a Conservative council member has admitted to distributing written content intended to incite racial animosity after the stabbing incidents in Southport.

Childcare provider Lucy Connolly, participating through a video connection from HMP Peterborough, confessed to creating the post concerning asylum seekers during her appearance at Northampton Crown Court. This followed her initial and subsequent arrests in early August.

She made a post on her social media account that was eventually removed. It stated: "Immediately deport en masse, burn down every damn hotel housing those jerks if it comes to that… If that labels me as a racist, I'll accept it."

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Connolly authored the message on the same day as the stabbing incident in Southport, Merseyside, where a group of young attendees at a dance class themed around Taylor Swift were assaulted.

Misleading reports suggesting that the perpetrator was a Muslim refugee circulated on the internet, sparking unrest throughout the UK.

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On July 29, an attack claimed the lives of three young girls, also leaving eight other children and two adults wounded.

Connolly, hailing from Northampton, subsequently expressed regret for responding to "untrue and harmful" information and seemed to have removed her X profile afterward.

She is married to Raymond Connolly, a Conservative councillor for West Northamptonshire.

Addressing the media outside the courthouse, he expressed his relief that the ordeal was finally concluded, noting how distressful it had been for his wife and three children.

Mr. Connolly described her as "a distressed homemaker" and "simply a middle-aged mom" who became entangled in the issue due to the spread of false information on the internet.

"He mentioned that what is being said about Lucy doesn't truly represent her; she's actually quite the contrary. However, she recognizes that she has gone too far this time and understands there will be repercussions," he explained.

"She can hopefully take this as a learning experience and progress in her life."

Mr. Connolly mentioned that since their son passed away, his wife becomes extremely upset whenever she sees a child being hurt.

He mentioned that she considers the "Tory label" to be unjust, yet she's prepared to handle whatever comes her way. She possesses great resilience and will emerge stronger from this experience.

In 2012, an inquest concluded that their 19-month-old son, Harry, passed away due to dehydration following a series of fundamental mistakes made by NHS healthcare professionals.

The child's parents rushed him to the hospital due to intense vomiting and diarrhea, where he was initially misdiagnosed with a minor stomach issue and discharged. Upon returning two days later, the hospital staff unfortunately dismissed them.

Subsequently, a general practitioner did not identify the actual issue, leading to Mr. Connolly discovering Harry unresponsive and not breathing at 4 a.m.

Individuals charged with acts of aggression or provoking unrest during the disturbances are being expedited through the legal process.

In Manchester, the court has postponed the sentencing of a 12-year-old involved in two violent incidents because his mother is currently on vacation in Ibiza. The boy's identity is withheld due to his age.

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District Judge Joanne Hirst expressed her disbelief to Manchester Magistrates' Court when she learned that the boy's mother had chosen to travel overseas for a five-day vacation in the sun, while her son was scheduled to appear in court after pleading guilty to two charges of violent disorder.

The court has summoned the mother to appear for the sentencing on September 11.

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The young male, who was with his uncle, previously confessed to joining a crowd that assaulted a bus near a hotel accommodating asylum seekers in Manchester on July 31.

Several days after the initial incident, he was seen with others on video as they smashed the windows of a vape shop and hurled an object at a police vehicle.

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