Director of Case Management at the Free Speech Union [FSU] Ben Jones has hit out at the "grossly disproportionate" sentencing for Lucy Connolly, following the dismissal of her appeal.
Connolly was jailed last October after posting on social media that hotels housing asylum seekers should be "set on fire".
The Court of Appeal ruled today that there was "no arguable basis" that her original sentence was "manifestly excessive" and refused her application to appeal against it.
During last week's appeal hearing, Connolly appeared via video link from prison and told judges she was "really angry, really upset" and "distressed that those children had died" in the Southport attacks when she shared her post.
Ben Jones has hit out at the 'grossly disproportionate' sentence for Lucy Connolly
Northamptonshire Police / GB News
Delivering his verdict on the dismissal, Jones told GB News that the FSU is "disappointed" in the court's decision.
Jones said: "It's basically disappointing. It's hard to know what else to say other than we've supported Lucy for a long time, and this is not the result that we were hoping for.
"It remains the case that the sentence, in our view, is grossly disproportionate. I'd also like to say at this point that the Free Speech Union is contacted by hundreds of people in any month, many of whom are absolutely terrified about what they can and cannot say in this country. They just do not know what the rules are."
Highlighting his concern for the future in free speech in Britain, Jones agreed with previous remarks by US Vice President JD Vance that free speech is "under attack" in this country.
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Lucy Connolly shared the post on the same day as three girls were stabbed to death in SouthportXJones cautioned: "I'm afraid he's absolutely right to say that freedom of speech is under attack in Britain, and it's a sustained attack that's been going on for a long time. It's an attack that is not relenting in any way.
"And unfortunately, we see that a comment around immigration, the scale of immigration, the failure to integrate discussion of the tensions, which are undeniable and inescapable in modern Britain, is a topic that is being reacted to by the authorities in an increasingly heavy handed way. That is what we can read from this result today."
When asked by host Bev Turner if the authorities are "taking lead from the top" in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is a "very prominent human rights lawyer", Jones agreed.
He responded: "I think we're in a dangerous situation as a country where that will be the perception of millions of people in this country reacting to this verdict. That trust in the police, in the authorities generally in the courts and the judiciary, I think is in a free fall.
Jones told GB News that free speech is 'under threat' in Britain
GB News
"This is a terrible situation for any country to be in, and I think that many, many people watching this will agree entirely with what you've just said."
Detailing the next steps for Connolly's case, Jones revealed that the Free Speech Union are "reviewing the case" and do not agree with the "grossly disproportionate" sentence.
Jones concluded: "We're reviewing it, and the point I would make at this stage is that I think when you look at the wording she used, 'for all I care', clearly this is not a form of words that she should have used.
"She realised that very quickly within a few hours afterwards, and she deleted this post. But this is not somebody who set out to incite violence or racial hatred. This is somebody who, for entirely understandable human reasons, had a reaction to that horrifying news that she later regretted and very immediately recanted.
"And I think people watching this overwhelmingly are going to see that this is a grossly disproportionate sentence, and the decision today is the wrong one."
