The “two-tier” justice debate has been reignited after a grandmother jailed over a Facebook post about the Southport riots was denied parole, while rioters convicted of racial abuse and harassment have been released after serving less than half their sentences.
Julie Sweeney, 53, from Cheshire, was sentenced to 15 months in prison after posting on Facebook that mosques should be blown up during riots that erupted across Britain following the killing of three young girls in Southport on June 29.
Despite being eligible for release on tag after serving three months, Sweeney remains in custody because her post included a threat to kill, making her ineligible for early release. As a result, she spent Christmas behind bars.
Meanwhile, several rioters convicted of offences such as racial abuse have been released on parole after serving less than half their sentences. This disparity has led to accusations of “two-tier” justice—a charge that surfaced last summer amid claims that Right-wing protesters were treated more harshly than their Left-wing counterparts.
David Sweeney, 77, who has defended his wife as “not a racist,” attributed her actions to an emotional breakdown caused by the Southport attack. Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: “It’s ridiculous.
“Alright, she posted what she posted, but she had a mental breakdown. Those three girls who were killed – we have three granddaughters, and it really got to her. It’s two-tier, how do they work this out? The mind just boggles.”
Sweeney, described as having led a “quiet, sheltered life” prior to her imprisonment, posted the inflammatory comment in a Kidsgrove community Facebook group. Reacting to an image showing white and Asian people participating in a clean-up after the riots, she wrote: “It’s absolutely ridiculous. Don’t protect the mosques. Blow the mosques up with the adults in it.”
Sarah Badrawy, prosecuting, told Chester Crown Court that one of the group’s 5,100 members became alarmed by comments posted after the Southport unrest and alerted police. Sweeney’s post was subsequently deleted.
When arrested, Sweeney, who is also her husband’s full-time carer, told police: “I’m not being rude, but there are a lot of people saying it.” She admitted her comment was unacceptable and insisted she had “no intention to put people in fear.” She later deleted her Facebook account.
Judge Steven Everett, the Recorder of Chester, described her as a “keyboard warrior” and said: “Even people like you need to go to prison.”
Under the law, Sweeney’s threat to kill classified her offence alongside serious crimes such as homicide and some terrorism-related offences, making her ineligible for home detention curfew. Other offences disqualifying prisoners from early release include cruelty to children.
Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, criticised the severity of her treatment: “It’s ridiculous that Julie has been placed in the same category as prisoners who’ve been convicted of serious offences, including homicide.
“It shouldn’t include someone who’s been found guilty of saying something unsavoury on social media. Do the authorities now consider speech criminals to be as dangerous as the most serious offenders?”
The case raises broader concerns about the boundaries between speech and action. This distinction is, for instance, evident in the jurisprudence of the First Amendment in the US and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), both of which protect speech unless it crosses clear thresholds such as incitement to violence. Critics argue that treating offensive online comments as comparable to violent crimes risks eroding the distinction between harmful words and harmful deeds, which, in turn, could set a dangerous precedent for free expression, potentially curtailing lawful but distasteful speech in the future.
In contrast to Sweeney’s case, offenders convicted of racism and harassment during the riots have already been freed.
Philip Hoban, who racially abused pro-Palestinian protesters in Leeds on August 3, was sentenced to eight months for racially aggravated harassment. He was released in November after serving just three months under the Government’s early release scheme, which aims to alleviate prison overcrowding.
Similarly, Jordan Plain, 30, was sentenced to eight months on August 9 for racially aggravated intentional harassment after being filmed making racist gestures at counter-protesters. He was also released in November.
Sweeney will be eligible for early release in February, The Telegraph understands.
The sentences handed down during the summer of riots have fuelled the “two-tier” justice debate, with Elon Musk labelling the Prime Minister “two-tier Keir”.
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