The Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has admitted that his original tweet, weighing in on the backlash surrounding the Lucy Connolly case, contained “erroneous” information about trial by jury.
The PCC’s first statement, published on X (formerly Twitter) on 23 August, wrongly asserted that Ms Connolly had been “found guilty of a serious crime by a jury (having already pleaded guilty).”
In law, those two things cannot both be true: a guilty plea bypasses a jury trial.
In the tweet, he stated: “It is incredibly wrong and deeply disturbing that some politicians and commentators are challenging the legal system when someone has been found guilty of a serious crime by a jury (having already pleaded guilty) and sentenced by a judge.
“These decisions were then upheld by an appeal court. We have a non-partisan and independent justice system with impartial jurisdiction in this country. We should respect the courts.
“Failure to this will undermine law and order, and the entire legal system. Politicians acting in such a wilfully irresponsible way should be ashamed and held to account.”
After being challenged by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) on the guilty plea and trial by jury, the PCC posted a clarification (26 August).
“For clarity, a reference to a jury in the Lucy Connolly court case was erroneous. She pleaded guilty, which is a decision for a defendant alone, so there was no jury trial.
“The facts are that she pleaded guilty, which the court accepted, and was consequently sentenced by a judge (recorder). Her appeal was dismissed by the appeal court. This is how the legal system works. It should be respected.”
Police and Crime Commissioners are elected to oversee policing, not the judiciary. The PCC was asked if he believed it was appropriate for a PCC to intervene in political debate about the courts in this way.
But he declined to comment on that.
Ms Connolly, a former childminder, admitted calling for arson attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers. She was jailed in 2024. The Court of Appeal later dismissed her challenge, saying her evidence was “incredible”.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
