Connolly, 42, pleaded guilty in September after posting the expletive-ridden message on X the day three girls were stabbed to death in July 2024.
She was handed a 31-month sentence in October after she posted on X: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b*****ds for all I care … if that makes me racist so be it.”
The post was viewed 310,000 times in three and a half hours before she deleted it.
I read that Lucy Connolly was “one of the most petrified inmates” at her prison, so at least she could imagine the terror of vulnerable people trapped inside a hotel surrounded by gangs of people threatening to burn it down with them in it, all because of a false online rumour.
— Brendan May (@bmay) August 22, 2025
Then, a week later, the former childminder sent a WhatsApp message joking the tweet to her 10,000 followers had “bitten me on the a**e, lol”.
Prosecutor Naeem Valli said Connolly also sent a message saying she intended to work her notice period as a childminder “on the sly” despite being deregistered.
Mr Valli added: “She then goes on to say that if she were to get arrested she would play the mental health card.”
When was Lucy Connolly released?
She was released from HMP Peterborough earlier after she was handed a 31-month prison sentence in October at Birmingham Crown Court.
Connolly’s case sparked debate, with some criticising her sentence as excessive. But Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended it earlier this year.
“Sentencing is a matter for our courts and I celebrate the fact that we have independent courts in this country,” he said.
“I am strongly in favour of free speech, we’ve had free speech in this country for a very long time and we protect it fiercely.
“But I am equally against incitement to violence against other people. I will always support the action taken by our police and courts to keep our streets and people safe.”
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Who is Raymond Connolly?
Connolly is married to West Northamptonshire Conservative councillor Raymond Connolly.
Raymond defended his wife, saying she was “a good person and not a racist” and that she had “paid a very high price for making a mistake”.
Over the past few weeks, he has told the BBC: “Lucy has already had the worst thing happen to her, losing her son tragically.”
He said she missed the children she looked after as a childminder and that some had visited her in prison.
“Two boys came and said ‘We are here to see our English mum’ so those visits have been good for Lucy,” he said.
She will serve the remainder of her sentence on licence under the supervision of the probation service
