Campaigner Ann Ming MBE received a standing ovation after sharing the remarkable story of her fight to change an 800-year-old law at a major North East charity event.
Ann was the headline guest speaker at the North East Ladies Day Summer Lunch, which brought more than 500 guests together at Hardwick Hall Hotel in Sedgefield on Wednesday, September 30.
The annual event was an afternoon of fundraising, friendship and celebration, recognising women and the work being carried out in communities across the region.
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel, pictured guest speaker Ann Ming and her friend Ann Marwood Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel, pictured guest speaker Ann Ming Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Suzanne Adamson & Lyndsey Brown-Smith Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Gaynor le Feuvre, Zareen Smith and Sarah Pike Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Sophie McKenna & Joanne Allick Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel, pictured Michelle Read and Louise Dargue Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel, pictured Isobel Race and Julie Tomlinson Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
But it was Ann's deeply personal account of her decades-long campaign for justice following the murder of her daughter Julie which provided one of the most powerful moments of the day.
Julie Hogg, from Billingham, was murdered in 1989 at the age of 22.
Ann subsequently embarked on an extraordinary campaign to reform the centuries-old double jeopardy rule after the man accused of killing Julie was acquitted of her murder.
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel, pictured guest speaker Ann Ming and her friend Ann Marwood Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Helen Redman, Louise Costello and Claire Gibbons Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel, pictured Francesca Armstring, Gill O'Hara and Hollie Petty Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Margaret Johnson-Bell, Barbara Gillson, Chriistine Dye & Janet Scott Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel, pictured Elaine Tyson and Carolyn Palmer Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
At the time, the law generally prevented someone who had been acquitted of a serious crime from being tried again for the same offence.
Ann refused to give up and spent years campaigning for the law to be changed.
Her efforts helped lead to major reforms which meant people acquitted of certain serious offences could face a retrial where compelling new evidence emerged.
The change ultimately allowed Julie's killer to be tried again and convicted of her murder.
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Rachel Bradley & Rebecca Blyth Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Helen Farell & Claire Southern Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Jo Lowes Chair of the NELD and Kaye Allen Patron Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Liz Waters, Liz Sloper Sue Gemt & Pixie Humphreys Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Holly Paleschi, Natalie Paleschi and Ella Packer Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
North East Ladies Day event at Hardwick Hall Hotel pictured Hannah Cook, Vanessa Price, Lydia Beacon & Laura Ward Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
Ann shared that journey with hundreds of women gathered inside the Grand Marquee at Hardwick Hall, speaking about her daughter, her battle for justice and her determination to change a law which had stood for centuries.
Those attending described her speech as heartbreaking, uplifting and humorous, with the room falling silent as she told her story.
At the end, Ann was met with a standing ovation from the audience.
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The speech was the centrepiece of this year's North East Ladies Day Summer Lunch, which also brought together guests from businesses and communities across the region.
The annual event raises money for charities and good causes, with this year's beneficiaries including Give a Duck and Hug in a Bag.
Alongside the fundraising, guests enjoyed an afternoon celebrating friendship and the achievements of women from across the North East.
Ann, who was awarded an MBE for services to the criminal justice system, has continued to speak publicly about Julie and the campaign, which resulted in one of the most significant changes to English criminal law in modern times.