A childminder who was jailed for a social media post has had her appeal against her prison sentence dismissed at the Court of Appeal.
Lucy Connolly, the wife of a former Conservative councillor Raymond Connolly, had pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred last year after making a social media post about migrants on the day of Axel Rudakubana's murders in Southport.
"Mass deportation 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," she wrote. "I feel physically sick knowing what these [Southport] families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it."
Fewer than four hours later, Connolly, from Northampton, removed the post after it was viewed 310,000 times.
Lucy Connolly had pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred last year after making a social media post about migrants on the day of Axel Rudakubana's murders
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Lord Justice Holroyde, Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Sheldon refused her application to appeal.
In a written judgment, Lord Justice Holroyde said: "There is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive.
"The application for leave to appeal against sentence, therefore, fails and is refused."
Holroyde added that the ground of appeal "was substantially based on a version of events put forward by the applicant which we have rejected."
Conservative councillor Ray Connolly said he is "heartbroken" that his wife's appeal bid has been dismissed. He said: "My wife has paid a very high for making a mistake and today the court has shown her no mercy."
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Judge Melbourne Inman KC said Connolly had encouraged 'activity which threatened or endangered life'
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She was interviewed by police on August 6 before being charged on August 9.
Sentencing, Judge Melbourne Inman KC said she was "well aware how volatile the situation was" and had encouraged "activity which threatened or endangered life" - and handed her a 31-month prison term.
Last month, she had filed a plea to see her daughter, which was rejected despite her being an "ideal candidate", according to one prison expert.
The length of the childminder's sentence prompted fury from high-profile figures including ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who said Connolly had fallen victim to a "politicised two-tier justice system".
After it gained widespread political and media attention, Connolly was given the support of Lord Young's Free Speech Union (FSU).
In a statement online ahead of her appearance at the Court of Appeal, the FSU said Connolly would be appealing her sentence on the grounds that "the trial judge erred in assessing the offence's severity and failed to give sufficient weight to mitigating factors".
The childminder's legal team argue that her "emotional reaction to the events in Southport must be understood in light of her own bereavement: the death of her 19-month-old son following a hospital error, and the psychiatric difficulties that followed," the FSU adds.
They also point to her clean record, and to the fact she removed the post within hours, it continues.
The group added: "For the FSU, Connolly's case foregrounds the importance of ensuring that sentencing decisions, and the treatment of prisoners, are governed by law and principle rather than public pressure.
"We have been supporting Connolly since her conviction, and members of our team will be present at the Royal Courts of Justice later this week as her appeal is heard."
