Lucy Connolly Ist Interview

[baggieal]

As a union rep I quite often see different cases which, on the face of it, appear to be very similar yet can have quite differing outcomes. However, each individual case is (rightly) treated as its own entity and and on its own merits, the exact details of which are only known to those directly involved. These details are those that can directly influence outcomes but those outside of the case will not be privy to them. That said, I do not think that this then fully explains the number of apparently similarly serious cases we are seeing with very variable outcomes. Despite claims in the Mail or Sun, we do not have an actively 2 tier legal system in this country but I have to agree with Al that there do indeed seem to be too many cases where the application of the law is too inconsistent.

That?s my point Omeg and I agree there?s no two tier system but a total lack of inconsistency and fairness. Take the grooming gangs the ethnicity of those who committed these acts was held back. Crazy unless there?s good reason. By the way - I have not read any sort of newspaper for at least 15 years but take a judgement. In the news at the moment about the Epping case - newly arrived illegal in the hotel assaulted a 14 year old and wanted to give her a baby. How should women in this area react?

Starmer is toast regardless of political views because of his back bench and the absolute massive discontent of the public. Glad I don?t vote!

[boingy]

Spot on.

This post is too intelligent for many on here though.

Insulting. Rude. Arrogant.

[WBA123]

I fully understand how things work, maybe you have been fitted with blinkers? I just can?t be bothered to go into chapter and verse to explain to you why you are misguided.

You should really learn the differences between pleading guilty and not guilty. And how this has nothing to do with eroding free speech. Glad I could help further with you 'fully understanding how things work'.

[WBA123]

Does arrogance come naturally to you?

Yes. You would get on well with my wife.

[WBA123]

Whether someone aligns to the left or right it?s their decision. That comment though 123 was shocking!! I think everyone and his dog knows how our legal system works and certainly hope I do with my legal qualification!

No it?s NOT two tier but it?s inconsistent by verdicts and many lawyers would agree with this.

Consider:

Connolly posted a horrible tweet on the day of the Southport massacre in July last year. A bereaved mother herself, she was horrified by the murder of three little girls at a holiday club and expressed her distress on social media. When she?d calmed down, a few hours later, she deleted the tweet. It did not represent who she was as a person, as a wife, a loving mother to a twelve-year-old daughter, as a devoted and hugely popular childminder to small children of many different nationalities.

Connolly has paid a high price for a moment of anger and many would agree with this. Keir Starmer threatened there would be heavy punishments for anyone arrested in connection with the Southport riots. He called them ?far right thugs?. Connolly was arrested, she was denied bail to which she was entitled as a person of previously exemplary character and taken to prison. She was petrified. Connolly was advised by her solicitor to plead guilty because she?d be ?out by Christmas?.

Tragically, the judge clearly decided to make an example of Connolly according to a huge amount of the public , giving her a horrifying 31-month sentence which shocked experienced lawyers. He appeared to give her no credit for several mitigations:

The fact she had a diagnosis of PTSD after her toddler Harry died in 2011 due to catastrophic medical negligence.
The fact that, ever since, she has been triggered by the suffering and deaths of children. She had an anxiety attack on the day of the Southport massacre.
The fact that immigrant parents wrote many glowing testimonials about their children?s carer - ?The kindest British person we?ve met,? one said. She was expressing the anguish and frustration felt by millions of British people.

Compare and contrast with the treatment of a *****phile BBC broadcaster. Huw Edwards got just six months suspended for two years. He served no time in jail at all for publishing the worst category of child-***ual-abuse images. Former Labour MP Mike Amesbury punched a constituent and kicked him as he lay on the floor. Amesbury received 10 weeks in jail, his appeal was heard within days and his sentence was suspended.

How is a single tweet worse than a violent assault let alone *****philia? It?s insane, and a vast majority of the public know it according to the petitions.

Even the protesting at hotels many are saying it?s the Far Right. Are mothers and daughters protesting Far Right because of the safety of women? Even today on the news an illegal who entered the country assaulted a 14 year old and said he wanted to give her a baby. Is this normal?

Consider this - I don?t vote and have never voted as my sleepy little life won?t change in a beautiful town where hotels are always overbooked.

Perhaps your intelligence dig should be directed to a bright politician by asking why do they feel Reform are getting to be a leading party! Not difficult to work this one out 😂

Quite a lengthy statement this is, the problem with your logic though is that you're not comparing apples with apples.

You're comparing a social media post with Huw Edwards' case. They are very different.

Why not compare it to Matt's example about a Muslim who posted that he wants to burn down a hotel with majority white people in. From your perspective, what would be a just sentence for a guilty plea in that instance?

[baggieal]

Quite a lengthy statement this is, the problem with your logic though is that you're not comparing apples with apples.

You're comparing a social media post with Huw Edwards' case. They are very different.

Why not compare it to Matt's example about a Muslim who posted that he wants to burn down a hotel with majority white people in. From your perspective, what would be a just sentence for a guilty plea in that instance?

I could give you loads of examples:

A muslim who raped a 13-year-old girl he groomed on Facebook has been spared a prison sentence after a judge heard he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women are worthless.

Adil Rashid, 18, claimed he was not aware that it was illegal for him to have *** with the girl because his education left him ignorant of British law.

Yesterday Judge Michael Stokes handed Rashid a suspended sentence, saying: ?Although chronologically 18, it is quite clear from the reports that you are very naive and immature when it comes to ***ual matters.?

What about the girl last night in Epping who was 14 and s exually assaulted by a new arrival in the hotel. It was said he wanted to give her a baby! Disgusting!

Grooming scandal - why was the ethnicity not highlighted from day one?

I do work with the homeless who believe me don?t choose to be homeless. Is it wrong to feel they should be number one priority for a hotel and food whilst they get back on their feet.

I don?t have any negative feelings for anyone but do feel the system should be consistent and fair.

[Omegstrat6]

That?s my point Omeg and I agree there?s no two tier system but a total lack of inconsistency and fairness. Take the grooming gangs the ethnicity of those who committed these acts was held back. Crazy unless there?s good reason. By the way - I have not read any sort of newspaper for at least 15 years but take a judgement. In the news at the moment about the Epping case - newly arrived illegal in the hotel assaulted a 14 year old and wanted to give her a baby. How should women in this area react?

Starmer is toast regardless of political views because of his back bench and the absolute massive discontent of the public. Glad I don?t vote!

Many of the problems we now face are a result of 15 years of Conservative rule and-contrary to what Nige would have us believe-there are no easy fixes.

I certainly do not agree with everything Labour are doing but do generally feel that Starmer's intentions are on the right track. The problem is that he is like a blind man surrounded by garden rakes-he keeps walking into problems that would be easily avoided if he was able to read the room or better think through the next steps/implications of policies.

Given the financial situation of the country, for example, surely Labour were right to address a Winter Fuel Payment system which was based on age alone rather than need, just as they were surely right to address the tax avoidance loophole that has been exploited by wealthy individuals and companies in purchasing farmland? The problem is that he too often does not think the next step through to ensure that the implementation of such policies is seen by the majority of the public to be fair and that the vulnerable are protected. This failure then only leads to U-turns and smacks of weakness and indecision.. Too much of a perhaps well-meaning bumbler who gifts the opposition goals with statements like his boasting of working class credentials because he is the "proud son of a tool maker"!

I am constantly bemused as to why so many Labour leaders also elect to take a kind of moral high ground on some issues that are causing genuine concern (eg illegal immigration) rather than properly engage in informed and reasoned debates. A failure to do so only allows the far right to exploit genuine concerns even further and enables the rise of populism. A lack of transparency-as demonstrated in the Grooming Gangs Scandal-does not help either. Not only does it lead people to mistrust the government, it also increases the level of racism which is precisely what the government sought to avoid. All governments should surely properly listen to the concerns of its electorate-even if they view such concerns to be driven by a degree of mis-information. You would have thought that the consequences for any political party of not listening would be pretty obvious!

[Omegstrat6]

I could give you loads of examples:

A muslim who raped a 13-year-old girl he groomed on Facebook has been spared a prison sentence after a judge heard he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women are worthless.

Adil Rashid, 18, claimed he was not aware that it was illegal for him to have *** with the girl because his education left him ignorant of British law.

Yesterday Judge Michael Stokes handed Rashid a suspended sentence, saying: ?Although chronologically 18, it is quite clear from the reports that you are very naive and immature when it comes to ***ual matters.?

What about the girl last night in Epping who was 14 and s exually assaulted by a new arrival in the hotel. It was said he wanted to give her a baby! Disgusting!

Grooming scandal - why was the ethnicity not highlighted from day one?



I do work with the homeless who believe me don?t choose to be homeless. Is it wrong to feel they should be number one priority for a hotel and food whilst they get back on their feet.

I don?t have any negative feelings for anyone but do feel the system should be consistent and fair.

I share your anger over the leniency shown in such cases Al and do not dispute the fact that those you cite involve offenders of particular ethnic origins-but I think you will find that examples of such over-leniency can be equally found in cases where the offenders were white British. Certainly, the mitigating defence arguments around naivety and immaturity have been used.

The problem is that the whole criminal justice system is broken. There are not enough judges and barristers to hear even serious cases in time, prisons are over crowded and there are not enough of them and the rehabilitation system is little short of a joke. Feed into this the divisions in society plus a generation whose children seem to have been taught few, if any, boundaries and we are where we are.

I also think it wrong btw that "under age" children who have been found guilty of serious crimes-such as those who murdered the older Asian man walking his dog in Leicester-are not named and shamed.