A Tory councillor's wife has been arrested on suspicion of racial hatred after she is alleged to have said rioting thugs should set fire to all migrant hotels. Childminder Lucie Connolly, who works in Northamptonshire, allegedly called for mass deportations before concluding her social media post with "if that makes me racist, so be it." In the post, shared to X/Twitter, Connolly reportedly posted: "Mass deportations now, set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the b****** for all I care, while you're at it take the treacherous government and politicians with them.
"I feel physically sick knowing what these families will now have to endure. if that makes me racist, so be it." The message shared to Connolly's X/Twitter account was shared in the hours following the brutal murders of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport, Merseyside, last week.
Misinformation quickly spread online in the immediate aftermath of the murders, falsely claiming the suspect was a recent asylum seeker. In the following days rioters have thrown England and Northern Ireland into disorder, smashing up neighbourhoods and attacking police. Hotels housing migrants and asylum seekers were also targeted and set alight during tense moments in Rotherham and Tamworth over the weekend.
Northamptonshire Police confirmed an arrest had been in connection with racial hatred. Officers up and down the country have carried out hundreds of arrests following far-right riots that left communi.