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Tony Horne in conversation with Lucy Connolly. Episode 4 of 4. On July 29, 2024, a knife attack occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance workshop at the Hart Space studio in Southport, England. Three young girls – Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Bebe King (6) were killed, and ten others were seriously injured. Axel Rudakubana, aged 17 at the time of the attack, carried out the mass stabbing. In addition to the three fatalities, eight children and two adults (dance instructor Leanne Lucas and local businessman Jonathan Hayes) suffered severe knife wounds. On the day of the attack, Lucy Connolly, from Northamptonshire, published an expletive-ridden post on X (formerly Twitter) calling for “mass deportation now” and urging her followers to “set fire to all the f**** hotels full of the bastards [asylum seekers] for all I care.” Her post concluded with the statement: “If that makes me racist, so be it.” A childminder and wife of a local councillor, she posted the message after encountering false information online claiming the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker who arrived by boat. She also commented on a sword attack on the same day, writing, “I bet my house it was one of these boat invaders.” Her post was viewed 310,000 times and reposted nearly 940 times before she deleted it three-and-a-half hours later. She pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986. In October 2024, Birmingham Crown Court sentenced her to 31 months in prison. The judge noted she was well aware of how volatile the situation was and had actively encouraged actions that endangered lives. In May 2025, she challenged her sentence at the Court of Appeal, claiming she was “really angry, really upset” and “distressed that those children had died,” insisting she never intended to incite actual violence. The court rejected her appeal, ruling that the sentence was not excessive. She was released from HMP Peterborough in August 2025 under automatic release guidelines after serving 40% of her term. Following her release, she claimed she was treated as Sir Keir Starmer’s “political prisoner”. The double standards in terms of her punishment sickened millions of people throughout Britain and beyond. In recent months, we’ve seen numerous people on the extreme left take to Twitter to rejoice at the murders of Charlie Kirk and Ann Widdecombe, and to encourage acts of violence against those who hold similar views. They have faced no comparable prosecutions or prison sentences. To be clear, Lucy regrets what she tweeted. She is not the first and will not be the last person to post something foolish on social media in the heat of the moment. She has good reason not to like the British establishment, having battled the NHS to admit negligence following the death of her 19-month-old son Harry in 2011. She is all too aware of how the establishment closes ranks and looks after its own, and sensed that was happening again over Southport. Lucy and Tony also discuss how the left-wing mob on Twitter/X seemed primarily motivated by the fact her husband, Raymond, was a Conservative councillor, rather than anything else, and they thought it acceptable to publish the couple’s personal details and attempt to ruin their careers as well as compromise their safety. The podcast is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

Tony Horne in conversation with Lucy Connolly. Episode 3 of 4. On July 29, 2024, a knife attack occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance workshop at the Hart Space studio in Southport, England. Three young girls – Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Bebe King (6) were killed, and ten others were seriously injured. Axel Rudakubana, aged 17 at the time of the attack, carried out the mass stabbing. In addition to the three fatalities, eight children and two adults (dance instructor Leanne Lucas and local businessman Jonathan Hayes) suffered severe knife wounds. On the day of the attack, Lucy Connolly, from Northamptonshire, published an expletive-ridden post on X (formerly Twitter) calling for “mass deportation now” and urging her followers to “set fire to all the f**** hotels full of the bastards [asylum seekers] for all I care.” Her post concluded with the statement: “If that makes me racist, so be it.” A childminder and wife of a local councillor, she posted the message after encountering false information online claiming the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker who arrived by boat. She also commented on a sword attack on the same day, writing, “I bet my house it was one of these boat invaders.” Her post was viewed 310,000 times and reposted nearly 940 times before she deleted it three-and-a-half hours later. She pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986. In October 2024, Birmingham Crown Court sentenced her to 31 months in prison. The judge noted she was well aware of how volatile the situation was and had actively encouraged actions that endangered lives. In May 2025, she challenged her sentence at the Court of Appeal, claiming she was “really angry, really upset” and “distressed that those children had died,” insisting she never intended to incite actual violence. The court rejected her appeal, ruling that the sentence was not excessive. She was released from HMP Peterborough in August 2025 under automatic release guidelines after serving 40% of her term. Following her release, she claimed she was treated as Sir Keir Starmer’s “political prisoner”. The double standards in terms of her punishment sickened millions of people throughout Britain and beyond. In recent months, we’ve seen numerous people on the extreme left take to Twitter to rejoice at the murders of Charlie Kirk and Ann Widdecombe, and to encourage acts of violence against those who hold similar views. They have faced no comparable prosecutions or prison sentences. To be clear, Lucy regrets what she tweeted. She is not the first and will not be the last person to post something foolish on social media in the heat of the moment. She has good reason not to like the British establishment, having battled the NHS to admit negligence following the death of her 19-month-old son Harry in 2011. She is all too aware of how the establishment closes ranks and looks after its own, and sensed that was happening again over Southport. Lucy and Tony also discuss how the left-wing mob on Twitter/X seemed primarily motivated by the fact her husband, Raymond, was a Conservative councillor, rather than anything else, and they thought it acceptable to publish the couple’s personal details and attempt to ruin their careers as well as compromise their safety. The podcast is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

Tony Horne in conversation with Lucy Connolly. Episode 1 of 4. On July 29, 2024, a knife attack occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance workshop at the Hart Space studio in Southport, England. Three young girls – Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Bebe King (6) were killed, and ten others were seriously injured. Axel Rudakubana, aged 17 at the time of the attack, carried out the mass stabbing. In addition to the three fatalities, eight children and two adults (dance instructor Leanne Lucas and local businessman Jonathan Hayes) suffered severe knife wounds. On the day of the attack, Lucy Connolly, from Northamptonshire, published an expletive-ridden post on X (formerly Twitter) calling for “mass deportation now” and urging her followers to “set fire to all the f**** hotels full of the bastards [asylum seekers] for all I care.” Her post concluded with the statement: “If that makes me racist, so be it.” A childminder and wife of a local councillor, she posted the message after encountering false information online claiming the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker who arrived by boat. She also commented on a sword attack on the same day, writing, “I bet my house it was one of these boat invaders.” Her post was viewed 310,000 times and reposted nearly 940 times before she deleted it three-and-a-half hours later. She pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986. In October 2024, Birmingham Crown Court sentenced her to 31 months in prison. The judge noted she was well aware of how volatile the situation was and had actively encouraged actions that endangered lives. In May 2025, she challenged her sentence at the Court of Appeal, claiming she was “really angry, really upset” and “distressed that those children had died,” insisting she never intended to incite actual violence. The court rejected her appeal, ruling that the sentence was not excessive. She was released from HMP Peterborough in August 2025 under automatic release guidelines after serving 40% of her term. Following her release, she claimed she was treated as Sir Keir Starmer’s “political prisoner”. The double standards in terms of her punishment sickened millions of people throughout Britain and beyond. In recent months, we’ve seen numerous people on the extreme left take to Twitter to rejoice at the murders of Charlie Kirk and Ann Widdecombe, and to encourage acts of violence against those who hold similar views. They have faced no comparable prosecutions or prison sentences. To be clear, Lucy regrets what she tweeted. She is not the first and will not be the last person to post something foolish on social media in the heat of the moment. She has good reason not to like the British establishment, having battled the NHS to admit negligence following the death of her 19-month-old son Harry in 2011. She is all too aware of how the establishment closes ranks and looks after its own, and sensed that was happening again over Southport. Lucy and Tony also discuss how the left-wing mob on Twitter/X seemed primarily motivated by the fact her husband, Raymond, was a Conservative councillor, rather than anything else, and they thought it acceptable to publish the couple’s personal details and attempt to ruin their careers as well as compromise their safety. The podcast is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

Tony Horne in conversation with Lucy Connolly. Episode 1 of 4. On July 29, 2024, a knife attack occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed children's dance workshop at the Hart Space studio in Southport, England. Three young girls - Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Bebe King (6) were killed, and ten others were seriously injured. Axel Rudakubana, aged 17 at the time of the attack, carried out the mass stabbing. In addition to the three fatalities, eight children and two adults (dance instructor Leanne Lucas and local businessman Jonathan Hayes) suffered severe knife wounds. On the day of the attack, Lucy Connolly, from Northamptonshire, published an expletive-ridden post on X (formerly Twitter) calling for "mass deportation now" and urging her followers to "set fire to all the f**** hotels full of the bastards [asylum seekers] for all I care." Her post concluded with the statement: "If that makes me racist, so be it." A childminder and wife of a local councillor, she posted the message after encountering false information online claiming the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker who arrived by boat. She also commented on a sword attack on the same day, writing, "I bet my house it was one of these boat invaders." Her post was viewed 310,000 times and reposted nearly 940 times before she deleted it three-and-a-half hours later. She pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986. In October 2024, Birmingham Crown Court sentenced her to 31 months in prison. The judge noted she was well aware of how volatile the situation was and had actively encouraged actions that endangered lives. In May 2025, she challenged her sentence at the Court of Appeal, claiming she was "really angry, really upset" and "distressed that those children had died," insisting she never intended to incite actual violence. The court rejected her appeal, ruling that the sentence was not excessive. She was released from HMP Peterborough in August 2025 under automatic release guidelines after serving 40% of her term. Following her release, she claimed she was treated as Sir Keir Starmer’s "political prisoner". The double standards in terms of her punishment sickened millions of people throughout Britain and beyond. In recent months, we’ve seen numerous people on the extreme left take to Twitter to rejoice at the murders of Charlie Kirk and Ann Widdecombe, and to encourage acts of violence against those who hold similar views. They have faced no comparable prosecutions or prison sentences. To be clear, Lucy regrets what she tweeted. She is not the first and will not be the last person to post something foolish on social media in the heat of the moment. She has good reason not to like the British establishment, having battled the NHS to admit negligence following the death of her 19-month-old son Harry in 2011. She is all too aware of how the establishment closes ranks and looks after its own, and sensed that was happening again over Southport. Lucy and Tony also discuss how the left-wing mob on Twitter/X seemed primarily motivated by the fact her husband, Raymond, was a Conservative councillor, rather than anything else, and they thought it acceptable to publish the couple’s personal details and attempt to ruin their careers as well as compromise their safety.

Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins discuss the topic of assisted dying in a way that is both sensitive and forthright. This is a complicated subject matter that generates strong opinions on all sides. On the one hand, few would argue against the principle that people should be allowed to die with dignity and minimal suffering when all meaningful quality of life has gone. On the other hand, legalising assisted dying could be a slippery slope – if we’re not careful, vulture family members may end up pressurising elderly relatives to end their own lives if they are set to benefit from their wills, and the mentally unwell could see assisted dying as an option where what they really need is better support. Greg brings an interesting perspective on this – he has been battling kidney and bladder cancer for well over two decades – he’s doing alright at the moment but he knows what it’s like to face death. The podcast is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

The Princess of Wales has revealed in a video message that in January, she underwent major abdominal surgery. While the surgery was successful, tests after the operation showed that cancer had been present, and she is now undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy. Kate’s announcement is yet another setback for the Royal Family, following the news last month that the King has a form of cancer, and the Duchess of York has revealed that she, too, is suffering from a form of skin cancer. We send our best wishes to all three and will be remembering them in our prayers. In this podcast, Marcus Stead and Greg Lance-Watkins discuss whether the recent difficulties could have been handled better by the Royal Family’s public relations team, and whether the clumsiness of it all played straight into the hands of vile trolls who have been spreading cruel and malicious rumours about the Princess of Wales. The Mother’s Day photo that was pulled appears to be a collage of other photos blended together. The image of Catherine looks like one that appeared on the front of Vogue magazine some time ago. The grainy video of Kate ‘out shopping’ with William that The Sun ran as an exclusive in the days before her announcement is certainly very odd. The woman in it looks to be no older than her late teens or early 20s, and her facial features are different to Kate’s. We also do not see a clear image of William to identify it as him. Good public relations is about clarity and controlling the story, and Kensington Palace have failed in those objectives. The discussion moves on to wider themes – where is the line to be drawn between the public having ‘the right to know’ and respect for the privacy of the Royal Family? What can be done about online trolls, who can spread appalling rumours without consequence? Prince Harry and Meghan have burnt their bridges with the Royal Family – if they had handled things differently in recent years, they could have held the fort while other senior members of the family receive treatment and recuperate in the months ahead. Their narcissistic behaviour means that is not possible. The podcast is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

Time To Reflect Where is Julie and how is Hollie over two decades on from Michael’s death and how does she feel about the MOD and remembrance services?

Blood Money No amount of money - big or small - equates or compensates for Michael’s death. Hear how the MOD admit negligence - but it is not quite 100%.

Julie makes the trip to Sierra Leone to see where Michael was killed. Suddenly, and only now, do the Ministry of Defence begin to admit liability for Michael’s death...

Just over one year on from Michael’s death, it is time for the inquest. Will Julie finally get any answers? The podcast series is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

Michael is laid to rest. But unrest is laid bare. The funeral is cancelled, then re-arranged. The guest list is vetted….A comedy of errors adds to the truth of lies... Presented by Tony Horne. The podcast series is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

Days later, Michael’s body is returned to the UK. His widow Julie is lied to about which airbase he is coming into. Then, as his body goes missing for four days, the lies begin to stack up. Presented by Tony Horne. The podcast series is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

December 2001. Michael has been home on leave. It is the only time he will see his newborn daughter Hollie. The podcast series is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

It is 0630, 28 January 2002. There is a knock on the door. Michael is dead. The podcast series is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.

On 27 January 2002, Corporal Michael Phillips was killed in Sierra Leone. He had just returned there after a brief visit home before Christmas on paternity leave. Daughter Hollie was born early December. From the moment, when his wife Julie received that dreaded knock at the door, she knew the truth did not add up. A truth of lies. Finally, nearly nine years later, the Ministry of Defence admitted negligence. It has been two decades since Michael’s death. Hollie is now an adult. For the first time, his widow Julie Phillips goes on the record in conversation with renowned ghostwriter Tony Horne to unravel that Truth of Lies... The podcast series is available on the Talk Podcasts website, iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify and the iTunes app.