Tory councillor’s wife ‘did not break X rules’ with criminal social media post

Elon Musk has let go of X’s entire moderation team during his tenure

A criminal social media post shared by the wife of a Conservative Party councillor “did not violate X rules”, users who reported it claimed they were told (Facebook)

A criminal social media post shared by the wife of a Conservative Party councillor “did not violate X rules”, users who reported it claimed they were told.

Lucy Connolly, 41, could be facing a “substantial” prison sentence for the post, in which she called for hotels housing migrants to be set alight and for “mass deportation now”.

The childminder pleaded guilty to publishing threatening or abusive material intending to stir up racial hatred at Northampton Crown Court on Monday.

Despite the post breaking UK law, it did not break the increasingly lax content rules on X – previously known as Twitter.

A user who flagged the post to the platform told the BBC that X sent an automated response rejecting the complaint, rather than taking it down.

They told the broadcaster: “I’m shocked and appalled. If they can ignore this clear-cut breach of their alleged rules of conduct and go against UK law, there is clearly a grave problem with their supposed moderation process.

“I’ve largely given up reporting now as I always get the ‘no violation’ response, despite clear breaches.”

Racist riots broke out across England and Northern Ireland, with migrant hotels being targeted and set alight in some areas (Getty Images)

The X user reported the post - which has now been deleted along with Connolly’s entire account - as breaching X’s rules which prohibit “threats to inflict physical harm on others, which includes threatening to kill, torture, sexually assault or otherwise hurt someone”.

They then received a generic email from the company stating: “After reviewing the available information, we want to let you know our automated systems found that [Connolly’s X account] hasn’t broken our rules against posting violent threats. We know this isn’t the answer you’re looking for.”

The social media platform has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the far-right riots that swept across the country last month.

The social media platform has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the far-right riots that swept across the country last month (AP)

The site’s owner, Elon Musk, used his platform to attack prime minister Keir Starmer during the unrest, calling the Labour leader “#twotierkeir” and claiming “civil war is inevitable”.

Critics say Musk has allowed disinformation to spread on Twitter since his takeover of the platform in 2022. During his tenure, he has let go of around 6,000 staff, or 80 per cent of the workforce, including the entire moderation team. He has also allowed previously banned users like Donald Trump, Andrew Tate, and Tommy Robinson.

The government has since committed to looking into the role social media misinformation played in the riots and the home secretary has said it would “strengthen the requirements for social media companies to take responsibility for the poison proliferated on their platforms with the rollout of the measures in the Online Safety Act”.

Conservative West Northamptonshire councillor Raymond Connolly speaks to the media (PA Wire)

Connolly, the wife of West Northamptonshire councillor Raymond Connolly, shared the post in the hours after the Southport killings, having encountered false information online that the perpetrator was a Muslim asylum seeker who had entered the country on a small boat.

Connolly, of Parkfield Avenue in Northampton, wrote: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the bastards for all I care… If that makes me racist, so be it.”

In the days that followed, racist riots broke out across England and Northern Ireland with migrant hotels targeted and set alight in some areas.

She pleaded guilty in a seven-minute hearing on Monday as Judge Adrienne Lucking KC adjourned her case for sentence at Birmingham Crown Court on 17 October.

Judge Lucking told Connolly: “Sentencing will entirely be a matter for the judge on the next occasion, but it’s likely to be a substantial custodial sentence. In the meantime, you are remanded in custody.”

Tyler Kay, who was jailed last month for reposting Connolly’s social media message (PA)

A father-of-three was jailed at Northampton Crown Court for 38 months on 9 August after reposting part of Connolly’s X message. Tyler Kay, 26, of Ellfield Court in Northampton, also admitted a charge of publishing material intended to stir up racial hatred.

Another X user, Andrew Butler, took to the site to share he had reported Kay for the post and also received an automated message saying Kay had not broken its safety policies.

The Independent has contacted X for comment.