Official documents reveal Lucy Connolly received Attorney General approval for prosecution within just 12 hours after Lord Hermer fast-tracked her case as an emergency.
The childminder faced charges for stirring up racial hatred following a post on X about the Southport stabbings, with specialist counter-terrorism prosecutors securing consent from Lord Hermer's office on a Friday night.
Crown Prosecution Service files obtained by Connolly through a subject access request have exposed the behind-the-scenes speed of her prosecution, sparking fresh claims she was treated as a "political prisoner" by the Government.
Connolly, from Northampton, received a 31-month prison sentence for inciting racial hatred in her X post following the killings of three children at a Southport dance workshop on July 29 2024.
She spoke of mass deportations and setting fire to asylum hotels "for all I care", adding: "I feel physically sick knowing what these [Southport] families will now have to endure. If that makes me racist, so be it."
The post was deleted within four hours but had already been viewed 310,000 times, with police interviewing Connolly on August 6 before charging her just four days later.
The documents reveal coordinated action between police, prosecutors and the Attorney General to expedite the case, with officials explaining her Public Order Act 1986 charge legally required Lord Hermer's consent.
Authorities implemented the rapid timeline under a national directive designed to process cases quickly and deter further disorder following rioting that erupted after the Southport killings.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "This clearly shows that the Government wanted to make an example of Lucy Connolly ... she was scapegoated by the Government, and it appears to me that, had she pleaded not guilty, she would have had a good chance of being acquitted. Thirty one months in prison for an offensive social media post is grossly disproportionate ...an immigrant who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old recently got off with no prison at all."
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice described the prosecution as politically driven rather than judicial, saying: "This was not a judicial decision. This was a political decision, confirming that she was made an example of as a political prisoner. The Attorney General, who has been exposed in so many different ways as being reprehensible and who conspired to act against British troops, has ... acted against freedom of speech. The real question is: can he survive these ever increasing revelations or should he do the right thing and resign."
Lord Young, director of the Free Speech Union, described the fast-tracking as "disturbing" and contrasted it with the CPS approach to prosecuting Mo Chara, the Kneecap rapper, saying the comparison made it "pretty clear where the state's priorities lie."
A spokesman for Lord Hermer responded to the criticism, stating: "Decisions to prosecute are, rightly, made independently of Government by the Crown Prosecution Service. For a small number of offences, it is a legal requirement that the CPS obtains the Attorney General's consent after it has decided to prosecute. This case was responded to in the same manner and timeline as many other similar cases at the time."
A government source added: "It is public knowledge that the Law Officers have a limited role in providing consent to prosecute for a range of offences. The idea that anything improper took place here is utterly baseless."
Emails show Connolly was already in custody on August 9 2024 as police prepared charges following her interview and phone examination.
A district crown prosecutor wrote at 11.09am that day: "The suspect is in custody. The case will be submitted for an emergency charging decision."
By 3.27pm, a senior CPS counter-terrorism division official contacted the Attorney General's "consents" section, explaining: "The custody clock runs out at 9am so will likely be making a decision this evening and the case going to court tomorrow."
At 8.45pm, a specialist prosecutor confirmed: "Please see attached. She can be charged. The AG are pretty confident they can get it done this evening. In any event, she can be charged and appear at court in the morning."
The senior counter-terrorism official followed up at 9.05pm, stating: "Please find attached the charging decision for this case ... we will be seeking AG consent tonight and they seem confident we will have a decision first thing in the morning."
An email from the Attorney General's office arrived at 9.21am the following morning, confirming: "The Attorney has reviewed and granted his consent, please see fiat attached. Please can you keep us updated with substantive developments in the case."
