A teacher has been sacked after branding Lucy Connolly’s prison sentence an example of “two-tier justice”.
Simon Pearson, 56, who teaches at Preston College, wrote on social media that Connolly’s comments following the Southport attack were “obviously wrong” but she “should not have been jailed”.
The college received a complaint from a Muslim representative of the National Education Union (NEU) at the place of education.
Following an internal investigation, the educator, who was an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher at the further education college in Fulwood, was dismissed.
Pearson told The Telegraph: “I am appalled by the way I’ve been treated. I’ve dedicated my life to education and to supporting students from all walks of life.”
“Yet as soon as I was branded ‘Islamophobic’ for expressing concern about violent crime, I became a marked man. It was clear that I had to be found guilty by the college, it became a witch hunt, and I had to be eliminated no matter what.”
The wife of an ex-Tory councillor was imprisoned for 31 months in October after being found guilty of inciting racial hatred after writing on social media that migrant hotels should be set on fire on the same day as the Southport attack.
The tweet, which called for “mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******** for all I care”, was viewed more than 300,000 times before she deleted it.
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A Teacher has been sacked after branding Lucy Connolly’s prison sentence ‘two-tier justice’
She concluded her tweet by saying, “if that makes me racist, so be it”.
Currently being housed at HMP Peterborough, she will have served 40 per cent of her term come August and is set to be released in the coming weeks.
The 42-year-old, who described how news of the massacre triggered memories of the death of her own child, has been the centre of a “two-tier justice row”.
The post was prompted by false rumours that the suspect behind the murder of three girls at a dance class in Southport was an illegal migrant.
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Simon Pearson wrote on social media that Connolly’s comments following the Southport attack were ‘obviously wrong’ but she ‘should not have been jailed’
The Northampton woman, the wife of a former Tory councillor, lost an appeal to reduce the severity of her sentence in May.
Nigel Farage had previously called for her release and labelled her jail term “absolutely excessive”.
The Reform UK leader said at an event in May: “I want to make it absolutely clear: Lucy Connolly should not be in prison.
“While she should not have said what she said, understand there were millions of mothers at that moment in time after Southport feeling exactly the same way.”
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Lucy Connolly was imprisoned for 31 months in October after being found guilty of inciting racial hatred after writing on social media that migrant hotels should be set on fire on the same day as the Southport attack.
Lord Young of Acton, founder of the Free Speech Union, said: “The most striking aspect of this case is that the teacher was sacked at the behest of the NEU.
“Once upon a time, trade unions used to stick up for workers threatened with the sack for speaking out of turn. Now, they side with management and actively try to get workers sacked, including their dues-paying members.”
Pearson apologised if he had offended anyone and has launched a legal case, which has been filed at an employment tribunal, with claims of wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal, harassment, and discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.
He argues the posts were expressions of protected philosophical and Christian beliefs, including support for the rule of law, freedom of expression, and equal justice.
