A woman who was jailed for stirring up racial hatred has said she wants to work with Reform UK on overhauling prisons.
Lucy Connolly was a “special guest” at the party’s annual conference in Birmingham on Saturday where she was described as a “political prisoner”.
The former childminder and wife of a Conservative councillor was sentenced to 31 months in prison for a social media post in the wake of the Southport murders last year when riots were taking place outside asylum hotels. She served 40% of her term.
Asked on the main stage what she wanted to do following her release, Mrs Connolly said: “I’d really love to use my experience to work with, hopefully, Reform in the future and overhaul the prison system, especially the women’s estate.
“It doesn’t work, it’s a waste of all of our money…We could let 80% of the women population out of prison and none of us would be in any danger.
“They need housing, they need mental health, they need rehab, and they just need people to care.”
Mrs Connolly pleaded guilty to sending a social media post that wrongly suggested that Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, had been an illegal immigrant.
In the tweet she called for “mass deportation now”, adding: “Set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the b*****s for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.”
The tweet was deleted three hours later after it had been viewed by 310,000 times.
Mrs Connolly had entered the stage to massive applause, with many in the audience standing up to clap as she walked on, and spoke about her experience with the police, courts and prison.
She was described by her interviewer and supporter Allison Pearson as a "political prisoner".
Mrs Connolly admitted she had been “an idiot” for sending the post, but added: “I don’t want to live in a country where they are arresting people for posts online and hurt-y words.”
In May, a legal challenge against the length of her sentence was dismissed by Lord Justice Holroyde, who said: "There is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive."
The party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, welcomed Mrs Connolly’s comments in his speech immediately after her live interview for a podcast.
He said: "It's wonderful to see her back with us and to hear her direct telling her story.
"I think that she has a huge opportunity to help Reform and help the cause of free speech."
