Was the prosecution of Lucy Connolly in the public interest? That is the question now being asked of the embattled Attorney General, Richard Hermer, following my story in the Sunday Telegraph that Hermer approved the charge of stirring up racial hatred against the mother and childminder last summer, over a hastily deleted tweet on the night of the Southport attack. ‘Lord Hermer of Chagos’ has faced further questions over his political judgement and yet more calls for him to be sacked.
In their blinkered appeals to sentencing guidelines and legal procedures, these lawyers seem utterly deaf to the central political and moral question of whether someone should be liable to go to prison for seven years for a single tweet
With significant public outrage about Connolly’s case, Hermer will doubtless not be pleased that this connection has been made. Since Lucy lost her appeal against her 31-month sentence last month, meaning she will remain in prison until August, a fundraiser for her and family has nearly met its £150,000 goal such is the public sympathy with her plight.
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