In an emotional and defiant public statement, Raymond Connolly, the husband of jailed mother and former childminder Lucy Connolly, has condemned the British justice system after his wife lost her appeal against a 31-month prison sentence for a tweet deemed to incite racial hatred.
Raymond, a former Tory councillor, described the court’s decision as “shocking and unfair,” and painted a picture of a woman broken by grief and anger following a horrifying tragedy—not a hateful ideologue.
“Lucy is not a far-right thug,” he declared. “She’s a kind woman, a devoted mum, and someone who cared deeply for the children she worked with, many of whom came from African and Asian backgrounds. The idea that she’s a racist is completely false.”
Lucy Connolly, 44, was arrested after posting a tweet in the wake of the brutal Southport killings on July 29, 2024, where three young girls were murdered by Axel Rudakubana during a children’s dance class. The post—later deleted—contained incendiary language calling for mass deportation and appeared to condone violence. It sparked outrage and led to a charge of inciting racial hatred, to which Lucy pleaded guilty.
But her husband says that guilty plea was made without full understanding.
“She didn’t realise that pleading guilty meant accepting that she was trying to incite violence,” Raymond said. “She was devastated about what happened to those girls. She was angry. She made one horrible tweet—one mistake—then deleted it within hours. For that, they’ve taken away almost three years of her life.”
The couple’s 12-year-old daughter has been left heartbroken, he says, after enduring nearly 10 months of separation from her mother.
“Lucy should be home with her daughter. Instead, she’s in a prison cell, while actual paedophiles and violent criminals get lighter sentences,” he said. “It’s cruel. It’s political. They wanted to make an example of her to scare people into silence.”
He also took aim at Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who reportedly referred to Lucy as a “far-right thug” in a public statement—a characterization Raymond furiously denies.
“My wife is not a thug. She’s a mother. She’s a caregiver. She’s someone who gave her heart to the children she looked after, regardless of race or religion. That tweet was wrong, she knows that—but it was born out of heartbreak, not hatred.”
The Free Speech Union, which helped fund Lucy’s legal defense, also voiced outrage at the outcome.
“No one is saying the tweet wasn’t offensive,” said FSU General Secretary Toby Young. “But two-and-a-half years in jail for a tweet? That’s a grotesque miscarriage of justice. It sends a chilling message about what happens when you express the wrong kind of outrage.”
Raymond Connolly vowed not to stop fighting for his wife’s release.
“This isn’t just about Lucy anymore,” he said. “It’s about free speech, about justice, and about the kind of country we want to live in. Do we want a nation where one tweet, made in grief and anger, can cost someone nearly three years of their life?”
As Lucy continues to serve her sentence at HMP Drake Hall, Raymond says he will keep speaking out.
“They can lock her up, but they can’t silence the truth,” he said. “My wife is not a racist. She’s a good woman who made one terrible mistake—and she deserves a second chance.”
