2007 in the United Kingdom

2007 in the United Kingdom

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2007 British Grand Prix 2007 English cricket season Football: England | Scotland | Wales 2007 in British television 2007 in British music 2007 in British radio UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Sport, Television and music

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Events from the year 2007 in the United Kingdom. The year sees changes in the leadership of the ruling Labour Party and of the Liberal Democrats, and the country is hit by severe weather events throughout the year.

Incumbents

• Monarch - Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister – Tony Blair (Labour) (until 27 June), Gordon Brown (Labour) (starting 27 June)

Events

January

• 3 January
  • Celebrity Big Brother 5 was launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.
  • National Express coach accident: A National Express coach from London Heathrow Airport to Aberdeen, Scotland crashed on a slip road between the M4 and the M25, killing two people and injuring thirty-six others.
• 4 January – In response to yesterday's crash, National Express withdrew all 12 of their Neoplan Skyliner double-decker coaches as a precaution.
• 5 January
  • The England cricket team lost the fifth Ashes test in Sydney, Australia by 10 wickets, resulting in a 5–0 series whitewash, the first time this has occurred since the 1920–1921 Ashes Tour.
  • Umran Javed, a British Muslim, was found guilty at the Old Bailey, London, of inciting racial hatred at a London rally in February 2006 protesting against the publication of a cartoon in a Danish newspaper depicting Muhammad (see Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy).
• 7 January
  • Bristol International Airport closed its runway due to concerns by various airlines (including easyJet and BA Connect) over the safety of landing in wet weather. This followed two days of nine airlines refusing to use the runway.
  • Laura Pearce became the first contestant on Channel 4 show Deal or No Deal to win the top prize of £250,000 since the start of the show on 31 October 2005. It took until the 351st attempt for the top prize to be won.
• 9 January – New rules outlawing businesses from discriminating against homosexuals were upheld in the House of Lords, after a challenge by Lord Morrow of the Democratic Unionist Party
• 10 January – Two military helicopters collided in mid-air near Market Drayton, Shropshire, killing one person and injuring three others.
• 10–28 January – John Reid faced mounting problems continuing from those of his predecessors including further prisoner escapes especially from open prisons and also absconding of those under Control Orders and missing sex offenders.
• 11 January – In an unexpected move, the Bank of England raised interest rates to 5.25%, an increase of 0.25%. This is the third rise in five months, after a year of stability.
• 16 January – At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Helen Mirren won an award for her portrayal of Elizabeth II in The Queen and Sacha Baron Cohen for his role in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Other British winners were Hugh Laurie in House and Jeremy Irons in Elizabeth I.
• 17 January
  • It was announced that methamphetamine – otherwise known as crystal meth – will be reclassified to a Class A drug, to avert widespread use of the drug.
  • Protests are held in India and the UK against the British series of Celebrity Big Brother after Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara are alleged to be racially abusive to Bollywood star, Shilpa Shetty.
• 18 January – The UK was hit by torrential rain and gale force winds, part of European storm Kyrill, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people and causing havoc to public transport and electricity supplies.
• 20 January – The MSC Napoli was deliberately grounded to prevent it sinking, leading to concern about environmental damage to Branscombe beach in Devon.
• 26 January – News of the World phone hacking affair: The News of the World's royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed for four months having pleaded guilty to phone message interception charges.
• 27 January – The final edition of Grandstand, the flagship BBC sports programme, was aired after nearly 50 years on television screens.

February

• 1 February
  • Defence Secretary Des Browne announced that the UK forces in Southern Afghanistan will be boosted by 800.
  • Passenger duty for flights from the UK doubled.
  • Downing Street officials revealed that Tony Blair had been interviewed as a witness by police on 26 January in connection with the Cash-for-honours allegations.
• 3 February – The presence of the H5N1 virus in the avian flu outbreak at the Holton turkey plant in Suffolk was confirmed.
• 11 February
  • The British Academy Film Awards were held; winners included Helen Mirren for Best Actress.
  • The England Cricket team defeated Australia to win their first overseas One-Day International trophy since 1997.
• 23 February – Grayrigg derailment: A Virgin Pendolino train derailed in Cumbria, killing one person and injuring dozens more.

March

• 1 March – Five British people were kidnapped in Ethiopia.
• 2 March – The Attorney General for England and Wales, Lord Goldsmith, obtained an injunction from the High Court preventing the BBC from broadcasting an item about investigations into the alleged cash for honours political scandal.
• 4 March – Two British soldiers serving with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan were killed in Helmand province during clashes with Taliban forces.
• 5 March
  • Al-Qaeda threatened to kidnap or kill Prince Harry during his upcoming tour of duty in Iraq.
  • A search party in Ethiopia found the vehicles belonging to five Britons kidnapped in the country.
• 7 March
  • Reform of the House of Lords: In a House of Commons vote a majority of MPs expressed support for a fully elected House of Lords. A smaller majority supported an 80% elected, 20% appointed chamber. Other options with a lower elected component were rejected. The proposals were put forward by Leader of the House of Commons Jack Straw, who describes the votes as "a historic step forward".
  • The 2007 elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly began. The election was conducted using the single transferable vote applied to six seater constituencies, each of which corresponds to a UK parliamentary seat.
  • Jonathan Evans was announced as the next Director-General of MI5. Evans is currently Deputy Director-General and will take over in April following the retirement of Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller.
• 9 March – Results from the Northern Ireland Assembly election showed the DUP and Sinn Féin making gains, and ensuring that in order for direct rule to cease both parties must agree to co-operate in a powersharing Executive.
• 11 March – The Ariane 5 rocket carrying the new generation Skynet 5 military satellite system is launched successfully from Kourou in French Guiana at 22:03 GMT.
• 12 March
  • Nigel Griffiths resigns as the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons over the proposed expansion of the Trident missile program.
  • The BBC's correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Alan Johnston, who is the only foreign reporter from a major media organisation based in Gaza, was kidnapped. All the main Palestinian militant groups have called for his release.
• 13 March
  • Five British Embassy workers who were kidnapped in Ethiopia twelve days earlier are set free in neighbouring Eritrea.
  • A draft Climate Change Bill was published in the United Kingdom, outlining a framework for achieving a mandatory 60% cut in carbon emissions by 2050.
• 14 March – The Government won the support of the House of Commons to update the Trident missile system. There was a significant revolt within the Labour Party with two PPSs Stephen Pound and Chris Ruane resigning.
• 15 March – Sally Clark, the woman who spent four years in prison before being released in 2003 when the High Court cleared her of killing her two baby sons (victims of cot death), died at the age of 42.[4]
• 16 March – Coroner Andrew Walker found that the death of soldier Matty Hull in the 190th Fighter Squadron, Blues and Royals friendly fire incident was "unlawful and criminal". The US Department of State rejected this ruling.
• 17 March
  • Pop four piece Scooch controversially won the right to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, Finland. The Making Your Mind Up selection show was marred by co-host Terry Wogan announcing French songstress Cyndi Almouzni as the winner, whereas Fearne Cotton announced Scooch as winning. The final results showed Scooch having received 53% compared to Cyndi's 47%.
    • The rebuilt Wembley Stadium opened to the public for the first time, more than six years after its predecessor was closed.
• 21 March
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced his Budget. Major points included a cut in the basic income tax rate from 22p to 20p, the abolition of the lower 10p income tax rate, and a 2p cut in corporation tax.
  • Two British sailors died and a third was injured as a result of an accident on the nuclear submarine HMS Tireless in the Arctic Ocean.
• 23 March – Fifteen Royal Navy servicemen operating in disputed waters were seized by Iranian authorities after inspecting a ship suspected of smuggling.
• 26 March – Northern Ireland Peace Process: Members of the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, led by Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams, met face-to face for the first time, and agreed a timetable for implementing the St Andrews Agreement.
• 30 March – Network Rail (the replacement for Railtrack) was fined £4 million for health and safety breaches leading to the Ladbroke Grove rail crash, in which 31 people died.

April

• 2 April – A smoking ban came into effect in all enclosed public places in Wales.
• 4 April
  • President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that the 15 British sailors held by Iran were to be freed as a "gift" to Britain.
  • Violence erupted during a UEFA Champions League game between Manchester United and AS Roma.
• 5 April – Four British soldiers were killed in a bomb blast near the Iraqi city of Basra.
• 12 April – The anchor handling tug supply vessel Bourbon Dolphin capsized in the North Sea. Three people died and four were missing.
• 15 April – Two United Kingdom military helicopters collided near the town of Taji near Baghdad killing two soldiers.
• 17 April – Inflation at an annual rate of 3% fell outside government target range causing for the first time, the Governor of the Bank of England to have to write a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer as required by Monetary Policy Committee rules, explaining the reasons for this.
• 24 April – British anti-terrorism police arrested five people in London and one in Luton for alleged breaches of the Terrorism Act.
• 28 April – An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the richter scale struck Kent, injuring one and causing damage to buildings.

May

• May – The new Ford Mondeo went on sale in Britain with a range of saloons, hatchbacks and estates.
• 3 May
  • The Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales general elections were held; together with local council elections in Scotland and parts of England.
  • Madeleine McCann, a three-year-old Leicestershire girl, was reported missing in Algarve, Portugal.[5]
• 6 May – Manchester United won their ninth Premier League title.
• 8 May – The power sharing executive in the Northern Ireland Assembly was formed.
• 9 May – The Ministry of Justice came into existence in the United Kingdom, reorganised from the Department for Constitutional Affairs and taking over some responsibilities from the Home Office.
• 10 May – Tony Blair asked Labour's National Executive Committee to seek a new party leader and announced he will step down as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 27 June.
• 10 and 12 May – In the Eurovision Song Contest, the UK entry came joint second last in the final.
• 16 May
  • Alex Salmond was elected First Minister of Scotland in the Scottish Parliament, the first person from the Scottish National Party to hold the post. Supported by the Scottish Green Party, his party would form a minority administration.
  • The Ministry of Defence announced that Prince Harry will not be deployed in Iraq as originally planned, due to the security risks to both himself and his regiment the Blues and Royals.
• 18 May – Prince William officially opened the new Wembley Stadium.
• 19 May – Chelsea FC won the FA Cup with Didier Drogba's goal giving them a 1–0 win over Manchester United FC in the first club game to be played at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium.
• 21 May – A fire damaged the Cutty Sark in Greenwich.
• 23 May – HM Government announced a carbon emissions trading scheme, the Carbon Reduction Commitment, that would apply to hotel chains, supermarkets, banks, and other large organisations.
• 24 May – Jenny Bailey became the first transsexual mayor in the United Kingdom.
• 28 May – The Foreign Office submitted a formal request to the Russian Government for the extradition of ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi to face charges over the murder of his former colleague Alexander Litvinenko in London.
• 29 May – The Longbridge car factory in Birmingham re-opened, two years after the bankruptcy of MG Rover. The re-opened factory was a scaled down operation which would initially just produce the MG TF sports car, though there were plans by the Chinese owners Nanjing Automobile to build other cars there in the future.
• 30 May – A fire at a Magnox nuclear power station in Oldbury, South Gloucestershire, forced its indefinite closure. British Nuclear Group announced that the fire had not damaged the reactor and was in a "non-nuclear" area.

June

• 1 June – England played their first match at the new Wembley Stadium, against Brazil. This game occurred when Beckham was recalled, after 11 months in the international wilderness. It also heralded Michael Owen's return, from his injury at the 2006 World Cup. The match ended 1–1.
• 13 June – The Queen awarded Sir Tim Berners-Lee the Order of Merit for his pioneering work on the world wide web. Salman Rushdie received a knighthood, sparking protests in Iran and Pakistan.
• 14 June – The final MORI poll of Tony Blair's 10-year reign as prime minister showed his Labour government three points ahead of the Tories on 39%.
• 20 June – Scarborough F.C., who were members of the Football League from 1987 to 1999, went out of business with debts of £2.5million. The North Yorkshire side had just suffered a second successive relegation which had placed them in the Northern Premier League had they managed to stay afloat.
• 24 June – At a special Labour Party conference, Gordon Brown became leader of the party and Harriet Harman is elected Deputy Leader.
• 25 June – Heavy flooding devastated the cities of Sheffield and Hull, causing at least three deaths.
• 27 June – Tony Blair stepped down as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Gordon Brown. Blair becomes an envoy to the Middle East on behalf of the "Quartet" of the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia.
• 28 June – Gordon Brown announced his new cabinet. Jacqui Smith became the first female Home Secretary.
• 29 June – Two car bombs were uncovered in central London but were defused before they could explode.
• 30 June
  • A terrorist attack occurred at Glasgow International Airport. There were no civilian fatalities, but the perpetrator of the attack was seriously injured.
  • The third generation of the Ford Mondeo was launched

July

• 1 July
  • A smoking ban came into effect in all enclosed public places in England.
  • the Concert for Diana was held in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.
• 2 July
  • Michael Mullen, 21, of Leeds, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of his two-year-old niece Casey Leigh Mullen, who died at her home in the city on 11 February this year. The trial judge recommended that Mullen should serve a minimum of 35 years before being considered for parole.
  • Demolition work began on the historic HP Sauce factory in Birmingham, which closed in May with the loss of 125 jobs and the end of more than 100 years of manufacturing when the production facility was transferred to the Netherlands.
• 6–8 July – The British Grand Prix was held at the Silverstone Circuit, and was won by Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen with home hero Lewis Hamilton finishing third behind McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso.
• 7 July - Live Earth took place at the newly opened Wembley Stadium.
• 12 July – The first MORI poll of Gordon Brown's reign as prime minister showed the Labour government six points ahead of the Tories on 41%. [6]
• 18 July – Stadium mk, a 22,000-seat multi purpose stadium, is opened in Milton Keynes. Its main tenants are Milton Keynes Dons F.C..
• 22 July – Floods caused chaos through wide areas of Britain, especially the counties of Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, and left hundreds homeless and thousands of vehicles stranded on major roads.

August

• 1 August – The University Campus Suffolk was established.
• 2 August – First reports of the 2007 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak among cattle in Surrey.
• 9 August – French global bank BNP Paribas in the U.K. blocked withdrawals from three hedge funds heavily committed in subprime lending for mortgages, helping to initiate the worldwide financial crisis of 2007–08.
• 22 August – Murder of Rhys Jones: 11-year-old Rhys Jones was shot dead in Croxteth, Liverpool. His death was believed to have been a random shooting carried out by a local gang.

September

• 1 September
  • The Eurovision Dance Contest is held in London.
  • The Gaming Act 1845 was repealed meaning that, for the first time in more than 150 years, gambling debts can be enforced by the courts.
• 6 September – Murder victim Rhys Jones was buried following a funeral service at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
• 10 September – Television entertainer Michael Barrymore was told that he will not face charges in connection with the death of Stuart Lubbock, the man who was found dead in a swimming pool at his house more than six years ago.
• 14 September – Northern Rock bank sought and received a liquidity support facility from the Bank of England.
• 15 September – Rally driver Colin McRae and three other people were killed when their helicopter crashed near Lanark.
• 26 September – The appointment of Gordon Brown as prime minister appeared to have been well received with voters, as an Ipsos MORI opinion poll put Labour at 48% with a 20-point lead over the Conservatives, sparking media reports that Brown would call a general election within the following few weeks to form a term of parliament until the end of 2012.[7]

October

• 15 October – Sir Menzies Campbell resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
• 20 October – South Africa defeated England at the Rugby World Cup final in Stade de France, Saint-Denis.
• 31 October
  • Labour fell behind the Conservatives in a MORI poll for the first time since Gordon Brown became prime minister, as their 35% showing put them five points off the top.[8]
  • A German magazine came under fire from the British and European media and public for a satirical article about missing Leicestershire toddler Madeleine McCann, who has not been seen since she went missing in Algarve, Portugal, nearly six months ago.[9]

November

• 1 November – London's Metropolitan Police Service was found guilty of endangering the public following the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, an innocent Brazilian who officers mistook for a suicide bomber.
• 2 November – Four firefighters were feared dead in the Atherstone fire disaster.
• 4 November – Nigel Hastilow, a Tory candidate due to stand in Halesowen and Rowley Regis at the next general election, resigned after coming under heavy criticism for comments in the Express and Star newspaper in which he claimed that Enoch Powell had been "right" about his fears over immigration.
• 7 November – An inquest in Essex heard that Sally Clark died of "acute alcohol intoxication".[10]
• 8 – 9 November – The North Sea flood.
• 14 November
  • High Speed 1 from London to the Channel Tunnel was opened to passengers.
  • Full rollout of UK digital terrestrial television switchover began with complete turning off of the analogue signal to the Whitehaven area.
• 20 November – Child benefit data scandal: HM Revenue and Customs admitted that it had misplaced two computer discs which contained the records of child benefit claimants data, including bank details and National Insurance numbers, leaving up to 7.25 million households susceptible to identity theft.
• 21 November – Steve McClaren is sacked as manager of the England national football team, due to England failing to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008. This is due to being defeated 2–3 by Croatia in their qualifying group.
• 26 November – Donorgate: Labour Party official Peter Watt resigned over loans received by the party from David Abrahams.
• 29 November – Following a cold case review by West Midlands Police a 70-year-old man was remanded in custody charged with the 1961 murder of Birmingham teenager Jacqueline Thomas.

December

• 14 December – Fabio Capello, the former 61-year-old Italian coach of Spanish side Real Madrid, is appointed by The Football Association to take charge of the England team commencing January 2008. Capello will be the second foreign manager to take charge of the England team, after Sven-Göran Eriksson.
• 18 December – Nick Clegg won the Liberal Democrats leadership election.
• 19 December – The Confederation of British Industry revealed disappointing retail sales for the first two weeks of this month, sparking fears that Britain is on the verge of its first recession since the early 1990s.
• 29 December – Phil O'Donnell, the 35-year-old Motherwell footballer, died from a heart attack in a Scottish Premier League fixture. O'Donnell was capped for Scotland once in 1993, and had also been part of the Celtic side that won the Scottish league title in 1997–98 season.[11]

Undated

• Completion of the Beetham Tower, Manchester, a landmark 168-metre 47-storey skyscraper with oversailing upper floors designed by Ian Simpson, the tallest building in the UK outside London, and with its penthouse apartments (above the Hilton Hotel) being the highest residential addresses in the country.
• Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, based at High Wycombe, gains full university status as Buckinghamshire New University.

Publications

• Iain Banks – The Steep Approach to Garbadale.
• Ian McEwan – On Chesil Beach.
• Terry Pratchett's – Making Money.
• J. K. Rowling – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Births

• 12 March – Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden, elder child of the Earl and Countess of Ulster
• 17 December – James, Viscount Severn, son of the Earl and Countess of Wessex

Deaths

January

• 3 January – Sir Cecil Walker, Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for North Belfast (1983–2001) (born 1924)
• 4 January – Grenfell (Gren) Jones, newspaper cartoonist (born 1934)
• 7 January – Magnus Magnusson, journalist and broadcaster (Mastermind) (born 1929)
• 8 January
  • David Ervine, leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (born 1953)
  • Francis Cockfield, Baron Cockfield, politician and European Commissioner (born 1916)
• 27 January – Paul Channon, Baron Kelvedon, Member of Parliament (born 1935)
• 30 January – Griffith Jones, actor (born 1910)

February

• 9 February
  • Ian Richardson, actor (born 1934)
  • Aida Mason, oldest documented living person in Britain (born 1895)
• 16 February – Sheridan Morley, theatre critic (born 1941)

March

• 4 March – Ian Wooldridge, sports journalist (born 1932)
• 7 March – Lady Thorneycroft, philanthropist (born 1914)
• 8 March – John Inman, actor (born 1935)
• 14 March
  • Tommy Cavanagh, former footballer and football manager (born 1928)
  • Gareth Hunt, actor (born 1942)
• 16 March
  • Sally Clark, lawyer and victim of a miscarriage of justice (born 1964)
  • Sir Arthur Marshall, aviation pioneer and businessman (born 1903)
• 17 March – Freddie Francis, cinematographer and film director (born 1917)
• 18 March – Bob Woolmer, cricketer and cricket coach (born 1948); died suddenly in Jamaica
• 28 March – Sir Thomas Hetherington, barrister (born 1926)
• 30 March
  • Fay Coyle, former footballer (born 1933)
  • Michael Dibdin, crime writer (born 1947)

April

• 24 April – Alan Ball, former footballer and football manager (born 1945)

June

• 18 June – Bernard Manning, comedian (born 1930)

July

• 5 July – George Melly, jazz singer (born 1926)
• 29 July
  • Phil Drabble, author and television presenter (born 1914)
  • Mike Reid, comedian and actor (born 1940)
• 31 July – R. D. Wingfield, novelist and radio dramatist (born 1928)

August

• 10 August – Tony Wilson, broadcaster, nightclub manager, and record label owner (born 1950)
• 25 August – Ray Jones, footballer (born 1988)

September

• 10 September – Anita Roddick, environmentalist, political campaigner, businesswoman (The Body Shop) (born 1942)
• 11 September – Ian Porterfield, footballer and football manager (born 1946)
• 15 September – Colin McRae, rally driver (born 1968)

October

• 1 October – Ronnie Hazlehurst, composer (born 1928)
• 16 October – Deborah Kerr, actress (born 1921)
• 18 October – Alan Coren, columnist (born 1938)

November

• 6 November – Hilda Braid, actress (born 1929)
• 13 November – John Doherty, English footballer and manager (born 1935)
• 22 November – Verity Lambert, television producer (born 1935)
• 28 November – Tony Holland, television producer and writer (born 1940)

December

• 1 December – Anton Rodgers, actor (born 1933)
• 29 December
  • Phil O'Donnell, footballer (born 1972); died while playing
  • Kevin Greening, radio presenter (born 1962)