Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of hypocrisy ahead of Lucy Connolly’s release from prison today. The Prime Minister supported the conviction of the mother-of-one for inciting racial hatred over a post on X about the Southport attacks, which she deleted hours later.
But it has now emerged that in 2013 when he was director of public prosecutions he introduced guidance for prosecutors to consider a more lenient approach to people who quickly took down offensive social media posts and showed remorse. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told The Telegraph: “Keir Starmer’s enthusiasm for prosecuting Lucy Connolly appears to contradict his own guidelines. She rapidly deleted the message and showed remorse.
“This suggests Keir Starmer is guilty of hypocrisy and double standards by supporting a breach of his own prosecution guidelines.
“Lord Hermer personally authorised this prosecution, in what looks like another example of two-tier justice bearing in mind the very long sentence given when compared to others who committed actual acts of violence.”
Lord Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, added: “Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, should have listened to the advice of Sir Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, and urged the CPS not to bring charges against Lucy Connolly.”
Mrs Connolly, the wife of Conservative councillor Raymond Connolly, is due to be released today after being sentenced last year to 31 months in custody.
She had posted on X on the day of the murder of three children by Axel Rudakubana in Southport: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the bastards for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.”
She pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing “threatening or abusive” written material on X and was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court in October last year.
Her sentence has been criticised and led to accusations of “two-tier” justice, but Sir Keir Starmer defended it earlier this year. The Prime Minister was asked in May about Connolly’s case after her Court of Appeal application against her jail term was dismissed.
Asked during Prime Minister’s Questions whether her imprisonment was an “efficient or fair use” of prison, Sir Keir said: “Sentencing is a matter for our courts, and I celebrate the fact that we have independent courts in this country. 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.”
A Government spokesman said: “Sentencing is a matter for independent courts, and we support the action taken by the courts, as well as the police, to keep our streets safe.
“In all cases where Law Officers’ consent is required, the Law Officers carefully consider whether to grant consent, including all relevant factors to the public interest in the prosecution.”
