Overview

• Connolly, 42, left HMP Peterborough by taxi on Thursday morning and will serve the remainder of her 31‑month term in the community on licence after about 10 months in custody.
• She pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to inciting racial hatred for a July 29, 2024 X post urging arson against hotels housing asylum seekers that drew roughly 310,000 views before deletion.
• The sentencing judge classified the offence as category 1A, the highest level of harm and culpability, and set 31 months after reducing from a 42‑month starting point for an early guilty plea.
• In May, the Court of Appeal rejected her bid to reduce the sentence, with Lord Justice Holroyde saying there was no arguable basis to deem it manifestly excessive.
• Her release has drawn renewed political reaction, with Keir Starmer backing the courts’ stance against incitement while critics including Kemi Badenoch and the Free Speech Union argue the punishment was disproportionate.