'We have got to make mum proud every day' - daughter's tribute to Manchester Arena bombing victim Jane Tweddle

The daughter of a Hartlepool-born woman who died in the Manchester Arena bombing has paid tribute to her mother.
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Jane Tweddle was one of five people from the North East who died in the attack in 2017, alongside Chloe Rutherford, 17, and boyfriend Liam Curry, 19, from South Shields; and Philip Tron, 32, and his partner’s daughter Courtney Boyle, 19, both from Gateshead.

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A jury took just for five hours to find him guilty in March.

Jane TweddleJane Tweddle
Jane Tweddle

The Old Bailey heard that the Islamic State-inspired jihadi had helped his older sibling, Salman, who blew himself up in the attack after an Ariana Grande concert on the night of May 22.

A two-day sentencing hearing is now underway and has been hearing victim impact statements from the families of those who died.

Originally from Hartlepool, 51-year-old Jane Tweddle was a school receptionist who lived in Blackpool.

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Her daughter Harriet Taylor said she wanted her victim personal statement to acknowledge how the family had harnessed ‘the strength and love our mum left behind to come together as an even stronger family’.

Appearing to reference Hashem Abedi, she added: “What we have that he will never is love.

“The sooner more people realise this – and stop pointing fingers in times of crisis – maybe we as humans will be better for it.

“We have to start by taking care of each other. If you see someone who’s hurting don’t look away.

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“We have got to make mum proud every day … to never give up, and show her how all of us will treasure her memory forever.”

Hashem Abedi is not present in court at the Old Bailey having sacked his defence team part-way through the trial and effectively withdrawn from the case by refusing to leave prison.

The court has heard he would have been eligible for a whole-life sentence had he been over the age of 21 at the time of the bombing.

However, he could be given multiple life sentences with a minimum term starting point of 30 years.

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