The partner of a Tory councillor has appeared in court charged with one count of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred. Lucy Connolly, 41, appeared at Nottingham magistrates court on Saturday via a live link and did not enter a plea. The court was told that Connolly, from Northampton, allegedly wrote a post on X, on the day of the Southport knife killings, that said: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the fucking hotels full of the bastards for all I care … If that makes me racist, so be it.” The district judge, Rahim Allen-Khimani, told Connolly the matter was “too serious for this court to deal with”. She was remanded in custody until her next court appearance at Northampton crown court on Monday. Connolly, who was wearing a pink jumper, is the partner of the Conservative West Northamptonshire councillor Raymond Connolly.