Mum jailed for tweet after Southport stabbing unable to go home

Lucy Connolly is reported to have applied for permission to temporarily return home and help her daughter, who is struggling

A mum jailed for her tweets in the wake of the Southport stabbings has not been allowed to return home to see her daughter, despite qualifying for 'temporary release'. Lucy Connolly was jailed for 31 months for inciting racial hatred with social media posts after the stabbings in Southport.

On July 29, 2024, a mass stabbing occurred at the Hart Space dance studio in Southport, Merseyside. During a Taylor Swift–themed yoga and dance workshop 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana attacked young girls with a knife. Three young girls — Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Bebe King (6) — were fatally wounded. An additional 10 people, including eight children and two adults, sustained injuries; several were critically injured.

The attack prompted widespread grief and led to far-right protests and riots across the UK, fueled by misinformation regarding the perpetrator's background.

Lucy Connolly, 42, from Northamton has been trying to to secure release on temporary licence to see her daughter, according to The Telegraph. Connolly said her 12-year-old daughter’s school behaviour has deteriorated since she was sent to prison.

Her husband is suffering from bone marrow failure.

Connolly posted on X hours after the Southport killings, speaking about mass deportations and setting fire to asylum hotels adding: "If that makes me racist so be it.”

Connolly pleaded guilty and was jailed in October. Temporary release allows for up to two overnight home stays a month.

Prison service sources said the application is being considered by the governor at HMP Drake Hall in Staffordshire.

A spokesman said: “Decisions on release on temporary licence and home detention curfew are made following uncompromising risk assessments to prioritise public safety. These are discretionary schemes, and each case is rigorously scrutinised, considering the severity of the offence, the prisoner’s conduct and the potential impact on victims and the community.”

Connolly is seeking to appeal her sentence, with a hearing on May 15.