Lucy Connolly Conservative councillor's wife pleads guilty to racial hatred post

Lucy Connolly, wife of a Conservative councillor, pleaded guilty to stirring racial hatred with a social media post.

Lucy Connolly, the wife of a Conservative councillor, has pleaded guilty to publishing a social media post intending to stir up racial hatred. Connolly, a 41-year-old childminder from Northampton, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on 29 July, calling for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire and advocating for "mass deportation now." In her post, she added, "If that makes me racist, so be it."

Despite the inflammatory nature of the post, a user who flagged it to X received an automated response stating that the post did not violate the platform's rules against violent threats. X's rules explicitly prohibit "threats to inflict physical harm on others, which includes threatening to kill, torture, sexually assault or otherwise hurt someone." However, the platform responded, "After reviewing the available information, we want to let you know our automated systems found that [Connolly's X account] hasn't broken our rules against posting violent threats."

The user who reported the post, who chose to remain anonymous, expressed frustration with X's response, stating, "I'm shocked and appalled. If they can ignore this clear-cut breach of their alleged rules of conduct and go against UK law, there is clearly a grave problem with their supposed moderation process."

Connolly's post came at a time of unrest across the UK, where several hotels housing asylum seekers were attacked. Last month, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson emphasized the responsibility of tech companies to tackle content that incites violence. The Online Safety Act, set to come into force in 2025, will compel companies to take "robust action" against illegal content, with potential fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue.

Connolly is scheduled to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 17 October. The incident highlights ongoing concerns about the effectiveness of social media platforms in moderating harmful content.