The Darlington and Stockton Times | News, Sport, Business, North Yorkshire, County Durham

Justice campaigner praised for fight

From the archive, first published Friday 19th Jan 2007.

A GRANDMOTHER whose campaign led to the scrapping of the 800-year-old double jeopardy law has just missed out on being crowned campaigner of the year.Ann Ming had been nominated in the campaign category of the Morgan Stanley Great Britons of the Year awards, which last year was won by TV cook Jamie Oliver for his work in promoting healthy school meals.She was beaten to the title by Laurie Pycroft, a 16-year-old who founded the Pro-Test movement supporting the use of animal testing in medical research.Mrs Ming, who travelled to London's Guildhall to be part of a star-studded awards ceremony last night, spent 17 years campaigning for justice for her 22-year-old daughter, Julie Hogg, after being angered at the failure to bring her killer Billy Dunlop to justice.Dunlop was charged with murder and put on trial twice, but on each occasion the jury failed to reach a verdict and he was formally acquitted in 1991. He later confessed to a prison officer while serving time for assault that he was guilty but, under the double jeopardy law, he could not be tried again on the same charge because he had already been acquitted. However, Mrs Ming, 60, of Norton, near Stockton, continued, with the help of The Northern Echo, to bring pressure to bear on the authorities and, in 2005, after lengthy consultations, the double jeopardy law was scrapped. This meant that cleared defendants could be tried again if compelling evidence became available indicating guilt.In October, Dunlop was finally jailed for life with a recommendation that he serve a minimum 17 years.Judges at the awards ceremony praised Mrs Ming's "sheer bloody-mindedness" as well as modesty, and said her efforts as a ordinary citizen in sustaining her fight for so long was truly inspirational.

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