Lucy Connolly to Meet Trump Officials on Free Speech
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Lucy Connolly to Meet US Officials After Release from Prison
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Background: The Southport Murders and Connolly’s Conviction
Lucy Connolly, 42, was released from HMP Peterborough on Thursday after being jailed for stirring up racial hatred against asylum seekers online following the 2024 Southport attack. She is a former childminder and the wife of a Conservative councillor.
In one of her first interviews since her release, connolly stated she would be meeting US officials but did not specify the details of their discussion. “Just that they’re very interested in the way things are going in the UK, and they are obviously big advocates for free speech, and their lawyers are keen to speak with me,” she told Dan Wootton on his YouTube channel.
US Concerns Over Freedom of Speech in the UK
Vice President JD Vance is among US figures who have expressed concerns about freedom of speech in Britain. A recent US State Department assessment analyzing human rights conditions worldwide flagged “serious restrictions” on freedom of expression in the UK. The report specifically cited government intervention to “chill speech” following the Southport attack.
Connolly’s Statement and the controversial Tweet
Mrs. Connolly conceded that her tweet last year was “wrong” but insisted she is ”no far-right activist.” She argued that attempts to silence dissenting voices are harmful. “You’re shutting people’s voices down. It’s ‘let’s give them a label. Let’s tell them they’re bad people and then they will be quiet’,” she said.
The tweet in question, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on July 29, 2024, read: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f hotels full of the bastards for all I care … if that makes me racist so be it.”