Lucy Connolly has said that those who defended her should also defend the University of Aberdeen employee arrested for derogatory social media comments following the death of Ann Widdecombe.

Heather Herbert, a web developer and trans activist, has reportedly been charged with malicious communications after describing Widdecombe’s killing as “good news” and expressing hope it had been “extremely painful” and that the former Conservative MP had “screamed in agony”. A murder investigation is underway after Widdecombe was killed in her home last week, in what police believe was a “targeted attack”.

Herbert’s arrest prompted comparisons on social media to the case of Lucy Connolly, who was convicted of inciting racial hatred in the wake of the nationwide riots which followed the Southport murders in the summer of 2024. Connolly had posted on X, calling for “mass deportations now” and writing: “set fire to all the fucking [migrant] hotels full of the bastards for all I care.” She was later prosecuted and sentenced to 31 months in prison before being released after serving just under half of her sentence.

Speaking exclusively to UnHerd, in response to whether she thought her online supporters should also defend Herbert, she replied: “Well, yes, because we want free speech. You can’t defend what she said any more than you defend what I said. But you can defend the fact that we do have free speech, allegedly, in the UK.”

Non-affiliated peer Baroness Fox was among those who posted on X about Herbert, claiming that the Widdecombe comments “were especially vicious, cruel, despicable; utterly unforgivable” but that it was “dangerous” to “egg-on” arrests for online comments. The Free Speech Union said it would “do our best to help” if Herbert joined the organization. Connolly praised the FSU’s response, stating: “I do not advocate for ANYONE to be arrested over offensive words.”

Connolly’s case drew international attention following her arrest and imprisonment. Supporters argued that it represented an unjustified restriction on free speech. In May 2025, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said that Connolly “should not be in prison”. When, shortly after her release, she was interviewed at Reform UK’s annual conference last September, she said that “I don’t want to live in a country where they’re arresting people for having an opinion online.” That August, Connolly claimed that she had been invited to meet Trump officials to discuss free speech.

Speaking to UnHerd yesterday, Connolly described Herbert’s comments as “disgusting” but said that she did not advocate for people being arrested or imprisoned for speech. “We can’t pick and choose who we imprison or arrest,” she said. “Anybody with any common sense would just ignore her.”