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Judge John Potter has presided over some fascinating trials.

As one of Manchester’s most senior judges, he has come face-to-face with the city’s most depraved criminals.

Among them was former TV weatherman Fred Talbot, who was convicted of a string of historic sex offences against schoolboys; Ming Jiang who brutally murdered his friend then dumped his body in a suitcase and gang boss Jamie Rothwell - who orchestrated a shooting in Warrington before fleeing to Spain.

“I would say that certainly a few times a year over the last 16 years, I've been able to come out of court and thought to myself, ‘well I did make a real difference there’,” he told court reporter Amy Walker ahead of his retirement.

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