19 February –Ford ends 90 years of British car production with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs after the lastFiesta was made at its factory inDagenham. However, the plant will be retained for the production of engines and gearboxes, and Ford will continue to make commercial vehicles at its plant inSouthampton.[1]
20 February –Andrew Aston, a 29-year-oldBirminghamcocaine addict,[2] is sentenced to 26 concurrent terms ofLife imprisonment – officially the longest prison sentence imposed on any criminal inEngland and Wales – for murdering two elderly people in robberies and attacking 24 others.[3]
21 March –Amanda Dowler, 13, goes missing on her way home from school inSurrey.
22 March – A woman known as "Miss B", who was leftquadriplegic last year as a result of a burst blood vessel in her neck, is granted theright to die by theHigh Court.[4]
23 April – A badly decomposed female body is found in theRiver Thames; it is feared to be that of Amanda Dowler.[1]
24 April – The body found in the River Thames is identified as that of 73-year-old Mrs Maisie Thomas, who was last seen alive near her home inShepperton just over a year ago and whose death is not believed to be suspicious.[2]
25 April – Two 16-year-old twin brothers are cleared of murdering 10-year-oldDamilola Taylor, who was stabbed to death inSouth London 17 months ago.[5]
8 May – Arsenal win theirsecond double in five seasons (and the third in their history) after a 1–0 away win over defending championsManchester United.[4]
7 June – England beatArgentina 1-0 in their second World Cup group game, with the only goal of the game being scored by captainDavid Beckham.[11]
10 June – First direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans carried out byKevin Warwick in theUniversity of Reading.
12 June – England qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup despite only managing a goalless draw againstNigeria.[12]
15 June – England beatDenmark 3-0 in the World Cup second round and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since1990.[13] Ironically, the far-rightBritish National Party had declared its support for all-white Denmark before the World Cup due to the England team featuring black players.[14]
21 June – England's hopes of winning the World Cup are ended by a 2–1 defeat toBrazil in the quarter-finals.[15]
25 June – Jason Gifford (27) is shot dead by armed police inAylesbury after brandishing a shotgun and a machete in a residential street.[5]
8 July – John Taylor, a 46-year-old parcel delivery worker fromBramley inLeeds, is sentenced tolife imprisonment for the murder of 16-year-old Leanne Tiernan. Leanne was last seen alive in the city centre on 26 November 2000 and her body was found in theYorkshire countryside nine months later. Police believed that Taylor may have been responsible for other unsolved sex attacks and murders in the Yorkshire area, and the trial judge has warned Taylor to expect to spend the rest of his life in prison.[6]
12 July –Ribble Link waterway opened for leisure traffic.
4 August – 10-year-old girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman go missing inSoham,Cambridgeshire.[17]
5 August – Police and volunteers in the Soham area begin the search for Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.[8]
7 August – Police investigating the case of the two missing Soham girls seize a white van in nearbyWentworth and admit they are now looking at the case as a possible abduction.[9]
12 August – A possible sighting of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman is reported by a local taxi driver who claims to have seen the driver of a green car struggling with two children and driving recklessly along theA142 intoNewmarket on the evening the girls went missing.[10]
13 August – Two mounds of disturbed earth are found at Warren Hill, near Newmarket, in the same area where screams were reported on the night that Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman went missing. It is initially feared that the mounds of earth were the graves of the two girls, but a police examination fails to uncover any link to the girls.[11]
16 August – Ian Huntley, caretaker ofSoham Village College, and his girlfriend Maxine Carr, are questioned in connection with the disappearance of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, but are released after seven hours in custody.[12]
17 August – Following the recovery of items of major interest to the police investigation, Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr are re-arrested on suspicion of murder as police admit for the first time that they fear the missing girls are now dead. Several hours later, two "severely decomposed and partially skeletonised" bodies are found in theLakenheath area; they have not been identified but police say that they are likely to be those of the two missing girls.[13]
21 August –Ian Huntley, detained under theMental Health Act, is charged with the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. His girlfriendMaxine Carr is charged with perverting the course of justice. Both are remanded in custody.[7] Meanwhile, police confirm that the two bodies found at Lakenheath are those of the two girls.[14]
20 September – Police confirm that human remains found in woodland in northHampshire are those of Amanda Dowler, who went missing inSurrey six months ago. A murder investigation is launched.
1 October – Main provisions of National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act (of 25 June) come into force in England, including renaming and merger of existingregional health authorities, to form 28 newstrategic health authorities, and introduction ofprimary care trusts to be responsible for the supervision of family health care functions.[19]
9 October – A judge decides that Ian Huntley is fit to face prosecution for theSoham Murders.
1 November –Diana, Princess of Wales' former butler,Paul Burrell, is cleared of stealing from the princess's estate after it was revealed that he had told The Queen that he was keeping some of her possessions.
15 November –Moors Murderer Myra Hindley dies inWest Suffolk Hospital at the age of 60 after being hospitalised with a heart attack. She was in the 37th year of herlife sentence and had spent the last decade attempting to gain parole despite being told by no less than fourHome Secretaries that she would have to spend the rest of her life in prison. Her death comes at a time when the politicians who gradually increased Hindley's tariff from 25 years to 30 years and then to"whole life" are expected to be stripped of their power to set minimum terms for life sentence prisoners.[15]
20 November
German anatomistGunther von Hagens conducts a public autopsy in a London theatre; the first in Britain in more than 170 years.[16]
40 years after the firstJames Bond film was made, the 20th film is released in British cinemas asPierce Brosnan bows out as Bond inDie Another Day after four films in seven years.[20]
23 November – TheMiss World beauty competition is held in London after rioting in theNigerian capitalLagos prevent it being hosted there.[16]
24 November –Home SecretaryDavid Blunkett rules that four convicted child murderers should spend at least 50 years in prison before being considered for parole. This ruling means thatRoy Whiting,Howard Hughes,Timothy Morss andBrett Tyler are likely to remain behind bars until at least the ages of 92, 80, 79 and 81 respectively.
26 November – Politicians inEngland and Wales lose their power to set minimum terms on life sentence prisoners after theEuropean Court of Human Rights and theHigh Court both ruled in favour of a legal challenge by convicted double murdererAnthony Anderson. Anderson had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1988 and the trial judge recommended that he should serve a minimum of 15 years before being considered for parole, but the Home Secretary later decided on a 20-year minimum term.
Stuart Campbell, a 44-year-old builder fromGrays inEssex, is found guilty ofmurdering his 15-year-old niece Danielle Jones 18 months ago. Danielle's body has never been found. It is then revealed that Campbell, who is sentenced tolife imprisonment, has a string of previous convictions including keeping an underage girl at his home without lawful authority in 1989.[23]
