Lucy Connolly, 42, a former childminder and the wife of Northampton town councillor Raymond Connolly, was released from HMP Peterborough on Thursday after serving about nine months of a 31-month sentence for inciting racial hatred. Connolly was jailed in October 2024 after Birmingham Crown Court ruled that an expletive-laden message she posted on X on 29 July 2024, hours after three girls were stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, amounted to a serious hate crime. In the post she demanded “mass deportation” and urged that hotels housing asylum seekers be set on fire; the message was viewed roughly 310,000 times before she deleted it. Having pleaded guilty in September 2024, Connolly received what legal commentators said was the longest custodial term imposed in the UK for a single social-media post. The Court of Appeal upheld the sentence in May 2025. Under automatic release rules she became eligible for parole after serving 40% of her term and will complete the remainder on licence under probation supervision. The case has intensified debate over free speech and proportionality in sentencing. Critics argue the punishment was excessive, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Parliament in May that the courts were right to act against incitement to violence. Connolly’s release is expected to renew scrutiny of how British law balances online speech with public protection.