How Lucy Connolly's racist tweet sparked a free speech row

Lucy Connolly, the wife of a Conservative politician, called for mass deportation of immigrants after the Southport stabbing attack and was jailed for 31 months for inciting racial hatred. Critics now say Connolly's case threatens free speech, and US authorities have also begun investigating the matter.

Toby Young: Pub 'banter' might just be chat or it might be offensive- but penalising the Landlord for it is a joke

Lord Young of Acton is Founder and Director of the Free Speech Union and a Conservative peer.  In the House of Lords earlier this week, I tabled various amendments to Clause 20 of the Employment Rights Bill – or, as I prefer to call it, the ‘banter ban’. Clause 20 will amend Section 26 of the Equality Act to make employers liable for the “harassment” of their employees by third parties, i.e., members of the public. If it goes through unamended, …

White House 'monitoring' case of councillor’s wife jailed for racist post

THE White House has said it is “monitoring” the case of Lucy Connolly in an escalation of free speech tensions with Sir Keir Starmer. Judges threw out an appeal brought by the 42-year-old last week, meaning she will not be released before August. Not known, clear with picture deskLucy Connolly was jailed after she urged rioters to set migrant hotels alight following the Southport riots[/caption] PARaymond Connolly has defended his wife amid the …

Lucy Connolly's remarks were 'outrageous and despicable', Stadlen claims

Commentator Matthew Stadlen has claimed that Lucy Connolly's remarks posted online, which resulted in her being jailed for 31 months, were "outrageous and despicable"Stadlen told GB News: "It was a disgusting, racist, horrific tweet that could could have been interpreted as incitement to murder

How Lucy Connolly's racist tweet sparked a free speech row

Lucy Connolly lost her appeal against her race-hate jail sentence, but is free speech under threat?

Explaining a 31-month sentence for a tweet

27th May 2025 How a mixture of court process, law and sentencing policy led to the lengthy imprisonment of Lucy Connolly For some a prison sentence – or indeed any criminal sanction – for a speech act needs an explanation. An offence for a speech act can seem different to, say, where there is tangible damage to the person or to property. You say [x] aloud, or you type and publish [y], and you go from not having criminal liability to having crim…