It had to be pointed out to Badenoch that Connolly pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has been slammed for posting a tweet in support of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for stirring up racial hatred.
Connolly pleaded guilty to sharing a tweet on the day of the Southport stabbings, calling for “mass deportations” and urging people to “set fire” to asylum hotels.
On 29 July 2024, teenager Axel Rudakubana killed three young girls and injured ten others at a Taylor Swift–themed yoga and dance workshop.
Far-right figures then spread misinformation online claiming Rudakubana was an asylum seeker who had recently travelled to the UK on a small boat. Riots across the country broke out the day after.
Yesterday on X, Badenoch wrote: “Lucy Connolly finally returns home to her family today. At last. Her punishment was harsher than the sentences handed down for bricks thrown at police or actual rioting.”
She criticised Keir Starmer for urging prosecutions to be fast-tracked during the riots, and added: “Days later, Lucy was charged with stirring up racial hatred – an offence that doesn’t even require intent to incite violence.”
It was quickly pointed out that Connolly pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred and had her sentence reduced from 41 months to 31. She has also only served 40% of her sentence in prison.
Badenoch tried to compare Connolly’s case with that of former Labour councillor Ricky Jones, who was prosecuted for encouraging violent disorder.
Addressing a crowd at a counter-protest outside an immigration centre in Walthamstow, he referred to National Front activists as “disgusting Nazi fascists” and shouted: “We need to cut their throats and get rid of them all.”
Jones made the comments in reference to a ‘National Front for Whites’ sticker that had been found on a train with a hidden razor blade behind it. Jones pleaded not guilty to encouraging violent disorder and had a jury trial, where jurors did not find him guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
This makes Badenoch’s comparison of the two cases misleading. Connolly pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred, whereas Jones denied the charge of encouraging violent disorder and was acquitted by a jury.
On social media, Badenoch has been accused of “fishing for votes in the bottom of the pond” and “jumping on a bandwagon”.
Former Conservative MP Anna Soubry responded to the Tory leader’s tweet, stating: “You are a disgrace. Connelly pleaded guilty and was sentenced by the Rec of Birmingham & her appeal against sentence was dismissed by the Ct of Appeal.
“You’re meant to be a Conservative – who upholds our independent judiciary & believes in law & order. You’re none of these things – you’re just fishing for votes in the bottom of the pond.”
Another X user, Division Order, said: “Kemi Badenoch, who did nothing for grooming gang victims as Women’s Minister and backs legal challenges to asylum hotels her government proliferated, is defending Lucy Connolly who pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred.
“Is there any bandwagon this opportunist won’t jump on?”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
