As the wheels of his passenger jet lifted away from the runway of Manchester Airport, Ismail Abedi must have felt a thrill of excitement as he climbed through the clouds and away from a world of trouble.
Just 24 hours earlier, he had been prevented from boarding another plane - he was questioned by counter terror police but was allowed to walk free. READ MORE: Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi asked friend to buy sheep for him in Libya Not only had he given police the slip, as his plane sped high across the North Sea he knew he had also swerved a potential grilling and humiliation at the continuing public inquiry into 2017 bombing of Manchester Arena.
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