A WORKINGTON mum who has been accused of publishing material online to "stir up racial hatred" wept as a Carlisle judge granted her bail. 

Megan Morrison, 27, who has been charged with publishing material on Facebook with the intention to stir up racial hatred, was told that she must return to court on September 13 to enter her plea.

The charge alleges that the defendant, of Mona Road, “published written material to stir up racial hatred,” and that the material was intended to stir up racial hatred.

An earlier hearing was told that Morrison made a comment on a Facebook post that she published on August 6, making reference to an incident in Rotherham, where a hotel had been attacked two days earlier during a riot.

The defendant allegedly suggested that some action should be taken to the Cumberland Hotel in Workington and had allegedly posted, ‘it’s full of them’ with an eye-rolling emoji.

During her hearing at the crown court, Judge Nicholas Barker set a timetable for the prosecution process, telling Morrison that she will face a two day trial that will begin on January 15 next year if she pleads not guilty.

The judge granted her bail but with certain conditions.

They include that Morrison must live and sleep each night at her current Workington address and that she must post nothing on any social media platform.

The judge told her: “It’s not a prohibition that you should not post anything offensive on the platform; it’s a complete prohibition.”

This applied to all social media platforms, including Facebook, X, and WhatsApp.

Any breach of that condition could lead to a remand in custody, warned the judge.

The defendant, who was not legally represented in court, was told also that she must serve a defence statement by October 8 if she intends to plead not guilty to the allegation she faces.

The case is the latest in a series of prosecutions of Cumbrians who are accused of posting racially aggravated content online in the wake of the horrific three murders at Southport and the riots that followed this.