British mother Lucy Connolly has been released from prison after serving nine months of a 31-month sentence for an online post she made in the wake of the Southport massacre.

Connolly’s arrest and jail term had been held up by many as an example of ‘two-tier justice’ under Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the British justice system.

Connolly made and then deleted a tweet calling for “mass deportation now” after a 17-year-old son of immigrants killed three young girls in a stabbing rampage.

The sentence reveals the concerning level of power governments use to police speech under online “safety” laws, such as the UK Public Order Act.

Thousands of people in Britain have been arrested for posts they’ve made online, with critics criticising what they see is the over-politicisation of the police force.

Similar concerns have been raised here in Australia with the Australian Online Safety Act, which critics claim has been used to silence dissent or opinions that go against certain ideologies.

The eSafety Commissioner, who operates under the Online Safety Act, has been accused by critics of attacking freedom of speech by taking down politically sensitive posts.

HRLA client Billboard Chris had his social media posts geoblocked in Australia after he made a post criticizing the appointment of a transgender activist to the UN board on X. Chris won his case against the eSafety Commissioner, but only after costly legal proceedings, which included having to travel from his home in Canada to Melbourne for the trial.

The case of two-tier policing in the UK was further highlighted when Ricky Jones, a Labour councillor, was acquitted of encouraging violent disorder. Jones had been filmed at an anti-racism rally calling for protesters' throats to be cut, yet a jury found him not guilty.

In her first interview since release, Lucy Connolly says she was punished for her views, not her words, and calls for reform of Britain’s justice system.

“Of course, it wasn’t my finest moment and I definitely don’t advocate violence or burning anything down,” she said.

The case reveals a growing trend of authoritarianism masquerading as protecting people from online harm that is developing many parts of the Anglosphere.

It’s clear governments are now using concerns over ‘offensive’ or ‘hateful’ words to silence genuine criticism and political communication.

This sets a dangerous precedent that threatens fundamental freedoms in the West.

“I think with Starmer he needs to practise what he preaches. He’s a human rights lawyer, so maybe he needs to look at what people’s human rights are, what freedom of speech means, and what the laws are in this country,” Connolly told The Telegraph.

Indeed.

That’s why when the government tries to censor the truth, HRLA will be there to defend Australians’ right to speak it freely.

^{Image source: BBC, Lucy Connolly's online post in the wake of the Southport killings led her to a 31-month jail term}