By David Furness
On 29 July 2024, Axel Rudakubana went on a knife rampage in Southport and killed three children and injured ten others.
In the wake of the Southport murders, Lucy, a former childminder, wrote on social media: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the fu–ing hotels full of the ba—ads for all I care, while you’re at it, take the treacherous government politicians with them. I feel physically sick knowing what these [Southport] families will have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it.“
Lucy Connolly was sentenced to 31 months in prison last year for posting the message above. It was an inappropriate and foolish tweet that she quickly deleted.
Two-tier Justice #1
Many criminals, including thugs and repeat offenders, often receive lighter sentences than those given to Lucy Connolly.
The trial of a suspended Labour Party councillor has been delayed until August 2025. Ricky Jones has been charged with encouraging violence during a speech he made to a crowd in Walthamstow on 7 August 2024.
Footage of the incident was shown online, as Jones spoke to the crowd about ‘far-right demonstrators’ and said, “We need to cut their throats and get rid of them.”
Ricky Jones has denied encouraging violent disorder!
The Court of Appeal declined to reduce Lucy Connolly’s sentence earlier this year, stating that her misguided post represented “an incitement to serious violence.” In contrast, I believe that a Labour Party councillor’s call to “cut the throats” of far-right demonstrators is a real incitement to serious violence.
Remarkably, this case has not yet been heard in court despite being a year old.
Two-tier Justice #2
A Labour MP was involved in a violent street altercation where he assaulted a man and later spent only three nights in prison.
In October 2024, a video surfaced showing Mike Amesbury, the Labour MP for Runcorn and Helsby, engaged in a brutal brawl outside a taxi rank, during which he appeared to strike a man multiple times. Despite onlookers shouting, “Stop it,” Mr Amesbury continued to assault the individual.
Mike Amesbury was sentenced to ten weeks in jail after pleading guilty to assault; he was required to serve four weeks in prison and spend the remainder of the sentence on license.
Amesbury successfully appealed his 10-week prison sentence at Chester Crown Court, and his sentence was suspended for a period of two years. He was required to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and participate in a 12-month alcohol monitoring program. Additionally, he was ordered to attend an anger management course.
Many people questioned why the prosecution did not bring a charge of affray, which can carry a longer sentence.
Lucy Connolly has been sentenced to 31 months in prison for posting an angry tweet on social media, and her appeal has been outright denied.
The reason for her harsh sentence is apparent—her views are perceived as a threat to the government’s stance on immigration and asylum seekers.
Lucy Connolly was poorly advised to plead guilty. A ‘duty solicitor’ may not always have the accused’s best interests in mind. The police often exert significant pressure on suspects. Without independent legal advice or experience in dealing with the police, a suspect may make the wrong decision by pleading guilty.
Many individuals involved in the Post Office Horizon Scandal were misled similarly, facing severe sentences and fines for following the advice of duty solicitors.
Mark Heath
Mark Heath faced similar charges to Lucy Connolly. However, he ignored the advice of the duty solicitor and pleaded not guilty to inciting racial hatred in a series of social media posts following the Southport attacks.
Mr Heath informed the court that his posts expressed strong opinions and did not promote violence.
One post read: “Just think how many ALI AL SHAKATIs are arriving and already here, ready to butcher our kids!” Another post was captioned “IT’S COMING” with the hashtag ‘civilwar’.
The prosecution barrister told the jury that Mr Heath intended to stir up racial hatred and share the hate he described for Muslims, immigrants and non-British people.
However, Mr Heath’s defence barrister told the jury that “the views expressed by Mr Heath are also expressed in the public domain by politicians and others regularly,” adding that “strong views” are lawfully held views, whether you agree with them or not.”
The jury delivered a verdict of not guilty.
Final thoughts
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) was a Nobel Prize-winning Russian novelist and Soviet dissident. He was not afraid to speak about his country, pointing out that:
“Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty.”
“You can tell it’s a tyrannical regime because they let out the real criminals and lock up their opponents.”
Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to eight years in prison for criticising Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in letters to a friend. Similarly, Lucy Connolly was sentenced to jail for criticising Labour Party policy on asylum seekers in a social media post.
Is Starmer becoming the new Stalin?
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